Unsolicited free delivery of state-run China Daily copies to UK Parliament halted after review, says MP
'It was completely wrong for this Chinese Communist Party attempt to exert influence over British politics to be inadvertently funded by British taxpayers,' Kearns said in a tweet.
She accused Beijing of attempting to create a 'false narrative on the many human rights atrocities they have committed and the immense security threat they present.'
Unsolicited free delivery of the newspaper to UK parliamentary representatives' offices had been ongoing for nine years, the Daily Mail reported.
In a response to the Conservative party representative's enquiry, the Administration Committee chair, Nick Smith, said that a review had now 'limited the distribution of bulk mailings to letters and reports only with a size and weight restriction.'
House members must opt in to receive mailings such as the China Daily, he said, adding that – as of yet – no members voluntarily subscribe.
HKFP has contacted China Daily for comment.
It follows a similar move in the US House of Representatives earlier this year. Republican Congressman Abraham Hamadeh successfully passed a resolution in March to prevent the unsolicited delivery of China Daily through the House mail systems.
He said that 'there are no circumstances under which the halls of Congress should ever become the domain of foreign propaganda.'
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