Three people charged under National Security Act

Three men have been charged with offences under the National Security Act.

The arrests come as part of an investigation led by officers from the the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command with support from colleagues from the North East and South East Counter Terrorism Policing Units.

Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, Matthew Trickett and Chung Biu Yuen have been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 3(1) and (9) of the National Security Act 2023 and also with foreign interference, contrary to section 13(2) and (7) of the National Security Act 2023.

In this case, the foreign intelligence service is that of Hong Kong.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “This operation is not connected to a recently reported Counter Terrorism Policing investigation linked to Russia.

“A number of arrests were made and searches carried out across England as part of this investigation. While led from London, the Counter Terrorism Policing network has been crucial to disrupting this activity and we have worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service since the start of the investigation.

“While these offences are concerning, I want to reassure the public that we do not believe there to be any wider threat to them. This investigation remains ongoing, but now that charges have been brought, I urge people not to speculate or comment further in relation to this case.”

The investigation resulted in the detention of 11 people under the National Security Act 2023. Eight men and a woman were arrested by counter terrorism police officers on Wednesday 1 May in the Yorkshire area. On 2 May, a man was arrested in London and another man was arrested in Yorkshire.

The seven men and one woman who were not charged were released from custody on or before Friday 10 May. The investigation remains ongoing.