A BRITISH parliamentary researcher arrested after being accused of spying for China has linked up with a Sun political reporter on a dating app.
Security chiefs are investigating whether the unnamed man in his 20s passed top secret documents to Beijing.
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Researcher, believed to be close to several Tory MPs, arrested on espionage charges Credit: EPA
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Noah Hoffman, The Sun’s political reporter, unwittingly chatted with a suspected spy on a dating appCredit: The Sun
The man was possessed by ghosts in March while working as a researcher for a Chinese parliamentary research group.
He is linked to senior Tory MPs including Security Minister Tom Tugenhaat and Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Alicia Kearns.
Here, Sun Political Correspondent Noa Hoffman reveals her close call after hooking up with Mr X on dating app Hinge:
BROWSING through dating apps, you quickly learn how many strange men there are and, more importantly, how to avoid them.
What no one prepares you for are the warning signs that you might be flirting with a Chinese spy.
I connected with Mr. X on Hinge after being impressed by his cute profile.
He was attractive, obviously played sports and had a successful social life.
On the application, he told me that he works in the Parliament, just like me.
We bonded over our favorite glitzy Westminster drinks receptions and even disaster story dates, which seems ironic now.
He said he worked for a high-profile organization that advises lawmakers on China.
He spoke passionately about how he lives in the country, but is now banned from returning.
And he spoke of his admiration and links with senior Tory MPs interested in the region.
We’ve arranged to go for a drink at the posh Covent Garden cocktail bar on more than one occasion – but something always comes up at the last minute.
He tested positive for Covid once.
“By the cruelest twist of fate, I succumbed to Covid after two years of avoiding it,” he told me.
Second, I was tired and couldn’t be bothered with the meeting.
I eventually lost interest.
But I often saw him walking around Parliament and he continued to text me and many other journalists with China briefings and “Westminster China Policy” social media calls.
MR X, who was dressed up with a big cheeky smile, was just like any other bright and attractive professional in his 20s.
That’s why my jaw dropped when I learned that he was arrested in March on espionage charges.
If someone so seemingly normal can live a double life and lie like this – who else does the same? Who can we really trust?
I re-read our messages last night – and I was shocked.
When I asked him if we were “still ready” for a date planned one evening, he replied: “How skeptical! Not without good reason to be fair.”
On another occasion, I joked that I had joined his organization.
He replied, “Be careful what you wish for.”
MPs, including former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, have long warned of communist infiltration of parliament.
People dismissed him and other “China hawks” as dramatic.
We need to start taking Sir Iain and the threat of the Communist Party more seriously.
I had a lucky escape with Mr. X – but what if the next person, or more importantly, the country, doesn’t?
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Noa described Mr X as ‘attractive, into sports and looked like any other professional in his 20s’Credit: Twitter
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