Chair of defence committee says RAF vets who train Chinese pilots should ‘lose British citizenship’
The Tory chair of the Commons defence committee has called for RAF veterans to lose their citizenship if they train Chinese pilots.
Tobias Ellwood made the comments on social media this morning just days after it was reported up to 30 former pilots have been lured to Beijing with large payments.
Following reports, the UK was set to issue an intelligence alert warning ex military officials from working with China, while a Ministry of Defence spokesperson told the BBC it was trying to deter it.
Responding to the reports, Ellwood who is a former soldier and now chair of the select committee for defence, wrote on Twitter: “RAF vets who help train the Chinese should LOSE British citizenship.”
Pilots are reportedly in for a big payday of up to £250,000 each if they help Beijing.
Ellwood had the whip restored by the Conservative Parliamentary Party earlier in the week, after he was booted out for rebelling against Boris Johnson.
Last week, new prime minister Liz Truss said she would for the first time, classify China as a threat.
The BBC reports there is no suggestion pilots have broken the official secrets act or broken any laws, reporting an MOD spokesperson as saying: “We are taking decisive steps to stop Chinese recruitment schemes attempting to headhunt serving and former UK Armed Forces pilots””
“All serving and former personnel are already subject to the Official Secrets Act, and we are reviewing the use of confidentiality contracts and non-disclosure agreements across Defence, while the new National Security Bill will create additional tools to tackle contemporary security challenges – including this one.”
Ellwood, the foreign office, Conservative Party and Commons Defence Select Committee have been asked for comment.