Brian McDonald
A former member of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy accused of helping Hong Kong authorities collect intelligence in the United Kingdom has died in unexplained circumstances, British police said Tuesday.
Matthew Trickett, 37, was one of three men charged earlier this month with agreeing to engage in intelligence gathering, surveillance and acts of fraud likely to materially assist Hong Kong’s intelligence service from the end of 2023 until 2 of May. men forced their way into a residential address in the UK on May 1.
All men were released on bail and were due to appear at London’s Central Criminal Court for a hearing on Friday. They have not yet filed appeals.
Thames Valley Police said Trickett was found dead in a park in Maidenhead, west London, on Sunday afternoon following a report from a member of the public. Police said an investigation was ongoing into the “unexplained death”.
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“His family has been informed and is being supported by officers,” police said in a statement. “We kindly ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.”
British media reports said Trickett was a former Royal Marine. He also previously worked for the UK Border Force at Heathrow Airport, before joining the Home Office Immigration Enforcement on February 21, 2024, the UK’s PA news agency reported. He was also a director of MTR Consultancy, a security company formed in April 2021.
He was charged along with Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63. The men attended a brief court hearing to confirm their identities on May 13.
The three were charged with aiding a foreign intelligence service and foreign interference, in violation of the National Security Law of 2023.
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The law came into force in December and aims to strengthen the UK’s national security against “hostile activities” that target the country’s democratic institutions, economy and values.
Police previously said the “foreign intelligence service” in question was from Hong Kong.
Hong Kong authorities confirmed that Yuen was the manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Commercial Office in London.
Trickett’s attorney, Julian Hayes, said he was “shocked” by Tuesday’s news and supported Trickett’s family. He declined to comment because investigations were ongoing.
A police cordon remained in place at Grenfell Park in Maidenhead on Tuesday night, with several officers stationed next to a black forensic tent near a playground.
“Unfounded and slanderous” accusations
Chinese authorities in the UK and Hong Kong condemned the allegations, saying they were the latest in a series of “baseless and slanderous” accusations by UK government authorities against China.
The Hong Kong government demanded that the UK provide full details of the allegations and protect the rights of the business office manager.
The espionage accusations emerged amid rising tensions between Britain and China. UK authorities have increasingly warned about threats to Beijing’s securityand recently accused China of being behind a series of cyberespionage operations targeting politicians and the British election watchdog.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain faces an increasingly dangerous future due to threats from an “axis of authoritarian states”, including Russia, China, Will It is North Korea.
In a separate and ongoing court case, two men, including a parliamentary investigator, were recently accused of spying for China. Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry were accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act by providing information or documents that could be “useful to an enemy” – China – and “prejudicial to the security or interests” of the United Kingdom between the end of 2021 and February 2023.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese control as a semi-autonomous territory in 1997. More than 100,000 Hong Kongers have moved to the United Kingdom from Beijing imposed a comprehensive national security law sparked by massive anti-government protests in the city in 2019. The British government has established a fast-track immigration route for migrants, many of whom want to settle in the UK due to diminished civil liberties in their hometown.
Rights groups have warned that Hong Kongers who have moved to Britain continue to face “transnational repression” from supporters of the Chinese government.
AFP contributed to this report.
