Growing Chinese influence over Britain could leave the country "undefended" fewer than nine months into Sir Keir Starmer's stint in Downing Street, security experts have warned.
Labour's approach to the world's second-largest economy is one of "cooperation, competition and challenge" - cooler tones than the "golden age" pursued in the Cameron years.
And much has been made of Beijing embedding itself in the UK - through technological infiltration, "soft power", espionage and investment.
The Council on Geostrategy's Charles Parton wrote in 2021 that "the CCP would like to see a Britain which supports China's view of globalisation, is open, innovative and sharing".
Modern-day China "recognises Britain's close ties with the US" - but seeks to "dilute" them, Parton added, and warned that "the likelihood is that the CCP will degrade relations with Britain, applying more stick and offering less carrot" in the years to come.
Right now, Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society security think tank, has warned that "maximum influence" is Beijing's goal.
He told GB News: "China wants a clean bill of health from the countries it is doing business with, and it will use any techniques at its disposal - whether those are legal or illegal - in order to achieve that end."
Meanwhile, Luke de Pulford, founder of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), told GB News: "With the US axing foreign funds and the UK reducing aid, China is filling the void. We've seen Beijing's infiltration play out in governments, universities, and business.
"Their strategy is to create dependency in order to bend other countries to their will."
If Beijing has its way, Britain will be forced to endure the "Chinese stealing of our secrets", Mendoza said. "If China maintains a stranglehold on our national security infrastructure, it could leave Britain undefended."
And now, security experts, China analysts and Tory top brass have set out four key pitfalls which have opened up since Labour's return to power and could open the door to China.
China may soon boast a hulking new piece of diplomatic real estate on the City of London's doorstep.
Plans for the site - often dubbed a "massive spy hub" by Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick - have been personally "called in" by Angela Rayner, a move which The Telegraph revealed came at the behest of David Lammy.
Lammy, Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper have publicly and warmly spoken about the project - despite a US congressional committee warning it will put the UK's national security at risk.
A public inquiry on the proposal ended last week, and a decision by Rayner is expected to be made by the summer.
The "super-embassy" would envelop a tranche of land next to the Tower of London, formerly home to the Royal Mint.
Critics have consistently warned of the potential for espionage from the site - which would supplant America's as the largest in London by tens of thousands of square feet.
Mendoza said: "Who knows what could be in that embassy - listening posts and such like - but its location suggests its target might be commercial rather than political."
But Jenrick, speaking at the first of two mass protests outside the site earlier this year, issued a call to action in no uncertain terms.
He said: "Don't take it from me. Take it from the police and our security services. Take it from [MI5 chief] Ken McCallum who said himself that the number one espionage threat to our country is China.
"Why, when you have China stealing our intellectual property, spying on members of our Government, sanctioning members of Parliament and intimidating, harassing British citizens day in, day out - why would we allow them to have here the biggest mega-embassy and spy headquarters in Europe?
"No self-respecting country would do that. We have to stand against it. We have to fight this tooth and nail."
But it isn't just British soil in the capital over which China could soon wield its considerable influence.
Beijing's long arm comes close to embracing Mauritius - and though the island nation has not yet signed up to China's Belt and Road Initiative, the two countries enjoy close economic ties through a free trade agreement.
Mauritius, currently pursuing a multi-billion-pound series of British payments to take over the Chagos Islands, is more closely aligned with India than China.
But as China's fleet sets its bounds wider, and wider still, Britain caving to international law to relinquish its only base in the Indian Ocean has seen near-unanimous fury from the British right - whose most vocal players, including Jenrick and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, have dubbed the deal a "surrender".
The Foreign Office insists that an agreement "means being able to secure strong protections, including from malign influence, that will allow the base to operate as it has done well into the next century".
But similar language was used about Hong Kong. Just days ago, ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman told GB News: "Have we learnt nothing from our mistakes in 1997? The Chinese Communist Party can't be trusted and aren't our friends - despite how much Labour might want to wish otherwise."
Asked whether the outcry over a deal was overblown, Luke de Pulford said: "It's understandable that people are concerned.
"The UK-US military base in Diego Garcia is crucial for maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific.
"As China is expanding its presence after establishing a military base in Djibouti, it seeks to increase its influence in the region.
"Mauritius is in debt to China from China's investments, which Beijing is using as political leverage.
"It would be an act of extraordinary naivety to believe that Beijing does not have strategic designs on the region, and an act of extraordinary stupidity to allow it."
Back in the UK, China's desire to strong-arm Hong Kong and its citizens - the welcoming of whom in Britain was a factor behind the visa conditions which led to the so-called "Boriswave" - is rearing its head again.
Earlier this year, GB News reported on the case of Chloe Cheung, a Hongkonger living in London who was placed on the former British crown colony's "wanted list" and charged under its national security law.
And just weeks ago, it emerged that neighbours of Hong Kong activists received letters encouraging them to hand them in to the Chinese embassy.
A spokesman for said embassy claimed in response that the letters were fraudulent, and "the concoctors of this botched farce lack common sense and discriminative ability".
Hong Kong descended into mass protest six years ago after Chinese Communist Party-aligned officials in the territory cracked down on free speech, elections and introduced extradition to the mainland - under the guise of national security.
A few years later, when Hongkongers took to the streets in Manchester, unidentified men emerged from the city's Chinese consulate and forced a protester inside before beating him up.
In 2023, then-Security Minister Tom Tugendhat was forced to step in to confirm that Beijing had opened - and subsquently closed - a number of "police service stations" on UK soil as fears rose that "dissenting" Britons could be next in the firing line.
China denies that the outposts ever existed, and any allegations to the contrary are "complete political lies".
As for why? China is a "paranoid state" which wants to "cut down" any kind of criticism towards it, Mendoza says.
"The Chinese Communists, perhaps unlike Putin's Russia, are still very capable of being embarrassed on the world stage... that's why they respond so aggressively and angrily when they're denounced for human rights issues."
As China flexes its muscles on Britain's streets, Labour is flexing its own on Whitehall.
Sir Keir Starmer wrote to civil servants on March 10 pledging to reduce staff levels, introduce performance-related pay and sack employees who do not meet standards.
He called for a "more agile, mission-focused and more productive" Civil Service - which drew comparisons with Elon Musk's ruthless streamlining drive across the Atlantic.
Science Minister Peter Kyle has slapped down claims that Labour's public sector cuts mirror Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) - he told LBC: "We are not going to do that."
But lay-offs are looming - as are they in the US, where Chinese recruiters have already begun sniffing out ex-Government employees.
Job ads have circulated online urging "talents" who had been dismissed by the US National Institutes of Health, universities or any other official body to "pursue career development and entrepreneurship" in Shenzhen.
"My staff have come across these ads on social media, and as far as we are aware, these are legitimate offers and are extremely concerning," said Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren.
Lofgren has warned that Chinese recruitment could spark a "brain drain" from the US which will benefit China - and has written to Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to warn that mass sackings "jeopardise our ability to compete" with Beijing.
The same could now happen in Britain, warns de Pulford.
He said: "For 20 years, the CCP's strategy of elite capture has been playing out in the UK. We saw how so many of the special advisors from the Cameron era were given jobs in companies like Huawei and TikTok.
"It would not surprise me at all if former civil servants found themselves in cushy jobs courtesy of Beijing."
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Labour's approach to the world's second-largest economy is one of "cooperation, competition and challenge" - cooler tones than the "golden age" pursued in the Cameron years.
And much has been made of Beijing embedding itself in the UK - through technological infiltration, "soft power", espionage and investment.
The Council on Geostrategy's Charles Parton wrote in 2021 that "the CCP would like to see a Britain which supports China's view of globalisation, is open, innovative and sharing".
Modern-day China "recognises Britain's close ties with the US" - but seeks to "dilute" them, Parton added, and warned that "the likelihood is that the CCP will degrade relations with Britain, applying more stick and offering less carrot" in the years to come.
Right now, Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society security think tank, has warned that "maximum influence" is Beijing's goal.
He told GB News: "China wants a clean bill of health from the countries it is doing business with, and it will use any techniques at its disposal - whether those are legal or illegal - in order to achieve that end."
Meanwhile, Luke de Pulford, founder of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), told GB News: "With the US axing foreign funds and the UK reducing aid, China is filling the void. We've seen Beijing's infiltration play out in governments, universities, and business.
"Their strategy is to create dependency in order to bend other countries to their will."
If Beijing has its way, Britain will be forced to endure the "Chinese stealing of our secrets", Mendoza said. "If China maintains a stranglehold on our national security infrastructure, it could leave Britain undefended."
And now, security experts, China analysts and Tory top brass have set out four key pitfalls which have opened up since Labour's return to power and could open the door to China.
London's Chinese 'super-embassy'
China may soon boast a hulking new piece of diplomatic real estate on the City of London's doorstep.
Plans for the site - often dubbed a "massive spy hub" by Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick - have been personally "called in" by Angela Rayner, a move which The Telegraph revealed came at the behest of David Lammy.
Lammy, Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper have publicly and warmly spoken about the project - despite a US congressional committee warning it will put the UK's national security at risk.
A public inquiry on the proposal ended last week, and a decision by Rayner is expected to be made by the summer.
The "super-embassy" would envelop a tranche of land next to the Tower of London, formerly home to the Royal Mint.
Critics have consistently warned of the potential for espionage from the site - which would supplant America's as the largest in London by tens of thousands of square feet.
Mendoza said: "Who knows what could be in that embassy - listening posts and such like - but its location suggests its target might be commercial rather than political."
But Jenrick, speaking at the first of two mass protests outside the site earlier this year, issued a call to action in no uncertain terms.
He said: "Don't take it from me. Take it from the police and our security services. Take it from [MI5 chief] Ken McCallum who said himself that the number one espionage threat to our country is China.
"Why, when you have China stealing our intellectual property, spying on members of our Government, sanctioning members of Parliament and intimidating, harassing British citizens day in, day out - why would we allow them to have here the biggest mega-embassy and spy headquarters in Europe?
"No self-respecting country would do that. We have to stand against it. We have to fight this tooth and nail."
The Chagos Islands "surrender"
But it isn't just British soil in the capital over which China could soon wield its considerable influence.
Beijing's long arm comes close to embracing Mauritius - and though the island nation has not yet signed up to China's Belt and Road Initiative, the two countries enjoy close economic ties through a free trade agreement.
Mauritius, currently pursuing a multi-billion-pound series of British payments to take over the Chagos Islands, is more closely aligned with India than China.
But as China's fleet sets its bounds wider, and wider still, Britain caving to international law to relinquish its only base in the Indian Ocean has seen near-unanimous fury from the British right - whose most vocal players, including Jenrick and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, have dubbed the deal a "surrender".
The Foreign Office insists that an agreement "means being able to secure strong protections, including from malign influence, that will allow the base to operate as it has done well into the next century".
But similar language was used about Hong Kong. Just days ago, ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman told GB News: "Have we learnt nothing from our mistakes in 1997? The Chinese Communist Party can't be trusted and aren't our friends - despite how much Labour might want to wish otherwise."
Asked whether the outcry over a deal was overblown, Luke de Pulford said: "It's understandable that people are concerned.
"The UK-US military base in Diego Garcia is crucial for maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific.
"As China is expanding its presence after establishing a military base in Djibouti, it seeks to increase its influence in the region.
"Mauritius is in debt to China from China's investments, which Beijing is using as political leverage.
"It would be an act of extraordinary naivety to believe that Beijing does not have strategic designs on the region, and an act of extraordinary stupidity to allow it."
A "paranoid state" on Britain's streets
Back in the UK, China's desire to strong-arm Hong Kong and its citizens - the welcoming of whom in Britain was a factor behind the visa conditions which led to the so-called "Boriswave" - is rearing its head again.
Earlier this year, GB News reported on the case of Chloe Cheung, a Hongkonger living in London who was placed on the former British crown colony's "wanted list" and charged under its national security law.
And just weeks ago, it emerged that neighbours of Hong Kong activists received letters encouraging them to hand them in to the Chinese embassy.
A spokesman for said embassy claimed in response that the letters were fraudulent, and "the concoctors of this botched farce lack common sense and discriminative ability".
Hong Kong descended into mass protest six years ago after Chinese Communist Party-aligned officials in the territory cracked down on free speech, elections and introduced extradition to the mainland - under the guise of national security.
A few years later, when Hongkongers took to the streets in Manchester, unidentified men emerged from the city's Chinese consulate and forced a protester inside before beating him up.
In 2023, then-Security Minister Tom Tugendhat was forced to step in to confirm that Beijing had opened - and subsquently closed - a number of "police service stations" on UK soil as fears rose that "dissenting" Britons could be next in the firing line.
China denies that the outposts ever existed, and any allegations to the contrary are "complete political lies".
As for why? China is a "paranoid state" which wants to "cut down" any kind of criticism towards it, Mendoza says.
"The Chinese Communists, perhaps unlike Putin's Russia, are still very capable of being embarrassed on the world stage... that's why they respond so aggressively and angrily when they're denounced for human rights issues."
'Brain drain' in the Civil Service
As China flexes its muscles on Britain's streets, Labour is flexing its own on Whitehall.
Sir Keir Starmer wrote to civil servants on March 10 pledging to reduce staff levels, introduce performance-related pay and sack employees who do not meet standards.
He called for a "more agile, mission-focused and more productive" Civil Service - which drew comparisons with Elon Musk's ruthless streamlining drive across the Atlantic.
Science Minister Peter Kyle has slapped down claims that Labour's public sector cuts mirror Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) - he told LBC: "We are not going to do that."
But lay-offs are looming - as are they in the US, where Chinese recruiters have already begun sniffing out ex-Government employees.
Job ads have circulated online urging "talents" who had been dismissed by the US National Institutes of Health, universities or any other official body to "pursue career development and entrepreneurship" in Shenzhen.
"My staff have come across these ads on social media, and as far as we are aware, these are legitimate offers and are extremely concerning," said Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren.
Lofgren has warned that Chinese recruitment could spark a "brain drain" from the US which will benefit China - and has written to Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to warn that mass sackings "jeopardise our ability to compete" with Beijing.
The same could now happen in Britain, warns de Pulford.
He said: "For 20 years, the CCP's strategy of elite capture has been playing out in the UK. We saw how so many of the special advisors from the Cameron era were given jobs in companies like Huawei and TikTok.
"It would not surprise me at all if former civil servants found themselves in cushy jobs courtesy of Beijing."
Find Out More...