China says reports it had spy in UK parliament ‘malicious slander’

Reports said the researcher was an adept networker [File: Toby Melville/Reuters]

China has lashed out at the United Kingdom, saying reports that a UK parliamentary researcher had been arrested on suspicion of spying for China were “malicious slander”.

The UK’s Sunday Times reported that the 28-year-old researcher, who had spent time teaching in China after graduating from university, had been arrested in March.