A UK government minister has been criticised for using a “crass and archaic” trope when talking about Chinese people during a broadcast interview. The environment minister Mark Spencer referred to the possibility that “some little man in China” could be listening in to his conversations when discussing reports a device belonging to the former prime minister and foreign secretary Liz Truss had been compromised by foreign agents.
The Labour MP Sarah Owen, who is of Chinese descent and is chair of East & South East Asians for Labour, tweeted: “Mark Spencer once again showing his ignorance, on many levels.” And she added: “Clearly, government ministers like Mark Spencer do not understand the severity of the now repeated Conservative security breaches and that no amount of deflecting, even by throwing out the crass and archaic ‘little Chinese man’ trope, will distract us from the fact the PM chose to rehire [Suella] Braverman just six days after a ministerial code violation to one of the most sensitive positions of state. “Keir Starmer has already called for the prime minister to sack Suella Braverman and replace her with a home secretary the country can trust.” The shadow justice minister Afzal Khan said: “Outrageous and reckless language used here … Is this the integrity you promised, Rishi Sunak?”
Khan also referred to allegations of Islamophobia that have been levelled against Spencer. An investigation into the claims has still not been published after more than eight months. Spencer has denied the allegations. The Labour MP Chris Bryant tweeted: “‘Little man’? Honestly?”
Spencer, a former chief whip, was discussing reports Truss’s phone was targeted by Russian spies while she was foreign secretary. According to the Mail on Sunday, the agents who hacked her phone were thought to have gained access to sensitive exchanges with foreign officials on Ukraine, as well as private conversations with her close political ally Kwasi Kwarteng. Speaking to Sky News on Monday, Spencer said Truss was “clearly” hacked. “So, that is the first thing you do, say: ‘Oh my goodness, I’ve been hacked, help,’ and the security services will help you with that challenge. Now, of course, you don’t always know, which is why you’ve got to be super careful.” He added: “We all talk on personal phones, don’t we? I ring my wife, maybe there’s some little man in China listening to the conversations between me and my wife. “But you’ve just got to be careful about what information you use on which phone and you get a lot of help and support from the security services on that.” Asked if he used his government phone for personal business, he said: “I do not, no.” He added: “You do get quite a lot of briefing from the security services on what to do and what not to do. So, you know, it’s quite important to get that right.”