Foreign political influencers will be compelled to register their activities or face imprisonment, fine, or both, the UK government said on Tuesday.
The new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) was introduced as an amendment to the National Security Bill, which is passing through Parliament.
It comes after the Security Service, also known as MI5, resorted to alerting Parliament about Chinese agent Christine Ching Kui Lee in January because she couldn’t be punished by existing UK law.
The two-tiered system will require foreign agents to register political influence activities within the UK at the direction of a foreign power or entity within 10 days of the direction or before the activity is carried out….