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Hundreds of Chinese laundrymen have worked on British ships since the 1930s with most from Hong Kong but will now be replaced by Nepalese Gurkhas. The Sun reported that the Ministry of Defence had made the decision over fears Beijing could obtain secret information by threatening the loved ones of laundrymen.6 hours ago
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British Navy drops custom of employing Chinese servants on warships over fears they may spy for Beijing
- It comes after MI5 spy chief warned China is trying to steal Britain’s nuclear technology secrets from Britain
By James Callery and Rebecca Camber
Published: 01:11 BST, 23 October 2023 | Updated: 01:53 BST, 23 October 2023
The British Navy has dropped the custom of employing Chinese laundry workers on warships over fears they may spy for Beijing, according to a report.
Hundreds of Chinese laundrymen have worked on British ships since the 1930s, but the majority were taken on from Hong Kong to wash and press sailors’ uniforms and officers’ white tablecloths.
However, they are being replaced by Nepalese Gurkhas as fears mount that Beijing could threaten the loved ones of laundrymen in China in order to force them to pass on Navy secrets, The Sun reports.
Three Chinese nationals were prevented from joining HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Navy’s largest and most powerful vessel, on her carrier strike group journey to the contested South China Sea.
A fourth Chinese laundryman was let go this month after 39 years of service because his family live in Hong Kong, the newspaper reports.
Former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West told The Sun: ‘If it is a question of security, the Navy has no choice.
‘But it’s sad as Chinese laundrymen have fought wars with us, some have died for us.’
It comes after MI5 spy chief Ken McCallum warned China is trying to steal nuclear technology secrets from Britain.
Mr McCallum said that it was a ‘high priority’ for Beijing to ‘disrupt’ the AUKUS security partnership between the UK, America and Australia to build a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
Britain is building a fleet described by defence officials as the ‘largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy’, featuring ‘world-leading sensors, design and weaponry’.
Speaking in California at the first joint conference by the Five Eyes intelligence alliance – comprising the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States – the MI5 chief added: ‘If you saw the wider public Chinese reaction when the AUKUS Alliance was announced, you can infer from that they were not pleased.
‘Given… the way in which Chinese espionage and interference is taking place, it would be safe to assume it would be a high priority for them to understand what’s happening inside AUKUS and seek to disrupt it if they were able to.’
Beijing has strongly criticised the AUKUS deal, accusing the three nations of embarking on a ‘path of error and danger’.
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