UK delays foreign lobbying clampdown as it works out China policy

LONDON — After years in the making, plans to implement a U.S.-style register of foreign influence-peddlers operating in the U.K. have been put on ice as Britain’s new government attempts to rethink its relationship with Beijing.

The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) was introduced in legislation last year as part of efforts to shield British politics from malign foreign actors. Russia, Iran and China were among those expected to face enhanced scrutiny.

But the scheme has now been delayed until next year.

A government official, granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, confirmed that policy pertaining to China — including the FIRS scheme — had been put on pause until the government completes its ongoing “China Audit,” expected to wrap early next year.

A tit-for-tat row erupted last week after Labour’s Security Minister Dan Jarvis blamed the delay on the previous Conservative government.

He claimed they had “completely failed to put in the appropriate measures” to implement the scheme, and that the IT solution for the register was “not yet ready.”

Tom Tugendhat said that, even accounting for the U.K.’s general election, there was no reason for the scheme not to be introduced before the end of this year. | Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images

His comments came after his Conservative predecessor Tom Tugendhat wrote to Prime Minister Keir Starmer to question the delay, saying he had been ready to launch the scheme in autumn 2024. Tugendhat said that, even accounting for the U.K.’s general election, there was no reason for the scheme not to be introduced before the end of this year.

Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, who formerly chaired the House of Commons foreign affairs committee tasked with scrutinizing the government, told POLITICO the “necessary preparation work” was completed “well ahead” of the election, and branded Labour’s claims “totally unfounded.”

She argued Labour’s “softening stance” on China was to blame. Foreign Secretary David Lammy made a rare, low-key visit to Beijing last week as part of a wider diplomatic push to rethink economic and political links with the country.

The same official quoted above said the review — expected to be completed in January — would provide ministers with a clear guide to which policy areas they could push for closer engagement with China on.

Another government official, also granted anonymity, said that while they were unaware of the details of the FIRS scheme, the decision to pursue a change in approach to China has been influenced by the U.K.’s finance ministry, the Treasury.

The FIRS scheme, meant to bring the U.K. into line with Five Eyes intelligence allies like Australia and the United States, would require anybody carrying out political activities in the U.K. at the direction of a foreign power to sign a register.

When a country is placed in the “enhanced” tier, ministers can extend registration requirements to include a broader range of activities, and to cover people operating on behalf of foreign government-controlled entities.

The delay to the Home Office scheme risks inflaming tensions with the U.K.’s security services, who have already warned their resources are being stretched by the rapid rise in state threat investigations over the last year.

“At a time our intelligence agencies are screaming from the rooftops about the threat from China, it is negligent in the extreme to remove from them one of the only tools they have to address it,” said Luke de Pulford, executive director of the hawkish Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China group.

“We need to know that Labour will not continue this trajectory, and will put the U.K.’s security interests first.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme had cross-party support before the general election, and this government has shown no indication of failing to deliver it, with implementation currently ongoing.”

Mason Boycott-Owen and Esther Webber contributed to this report.