# British businessman accused of spying for China tried to hire former Met Police detective to dig up intelligence on top MPs who were critical of Beijing

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/british-businessman-accused-of-spying-for-china-tried-to-hire-former-met-police-detective-to-dig-up-intelligence-on-top-mps-who-were-critical-of-beijing/
- Published: 2026-11-08T00:15:29+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-08T00:33:57+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16275109/Businessman-spying-China-hire-former-Met-Police-detective.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Americas, Asia, UK, World

## Key points

- Miller sought information on seven China-critical MPs.
- Animus says it did no investigative work for him.
- Miller and Cui fled Serbian house arrest for Beijing.

## Summary

John Miller, a British businessman accused by US authorities of spying for China, asked a private investigations firm to gather information on seven UK parliamentarians critical of Beijing. The disclosure raises questions about attempts to target politicians who had spoken out over the treatment of Uyghur Muslims, though the firm says it produced no investigative work for Miller.

Messages show Miller approached former Scotland Yard detective Keith Hunter’s company, Animus Associates, on behalf of Fise Technology, a Hong Kong company owned by Miller’s alleged Chinese intelligence handler, Cui Guanghai. Miller said information on Tom Tugendhat and Iain Duncan Smith would help impress the client; he later said another team had supplied financial and phone records and the case was closed. Miller and Cui were arrested in Serbia in 2024 over alleged efforts to acquire US weapons for China, then fled house arrest for Beijing in August 2025. Animus says it prepared only brief biographies from public sources as part of a proposal, and there is no suggestion it acted unlawfully or knew of the alleged state links.

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