Latest news with #JamesPatrickEvans
Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Times
Banning Chinese staff isn't racist, they could be spies, judge rules
Bosses at businesses connected to national security can legally ban the recruitment of Chinese and Russian workers as they could be spies, a judge has ruled. Richard Baty, sitting at an employment tribunal, said it was not discriminatory to prevent citizens from nations that pose a threat to Britain from taking up certain jobs — specifically in defence — because of the possibility of espionage. The judge said that precautionary measures were applicable to potential job candidates from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. His ruling came in a dispute between a Chinese scientist and an artificial intelligence company with ties to the British and US defence departments, which was triggered when security concerns were cited for not giving her a job. Tianlin Xu had applied for a £220,000 lead role at Binary AI, a software company in London, but the company's founder and director, James Patrick-Evans, rejected her application. The company uses artificial intelligence to identify flaws in software used by western governments to prevent state-backed hackers from targeting them. It has long been suspected that the Russian and Chinese governments are behind hacks Russia and China have long been suspected of orchestrating such attacks. Last year, Dutch counterterror investigators reported that both governments were behind cyberattacks on the Netherlands. The tribunal hearing in London was told that British defence officials had 'strongly advised' the 32-year-old company boss against hiring a Chinese citizen. • China set to be declared a threat to national security After her application was rejected, Xu sued Binary AI on grounds of race discrimination, claiming that the decision not to give her a job was based on 'racial stigma' and 'stereotyping'. But the tribunal dismissed her arguments, with Baty ruling that it was 'paramount that the security and operational capability of the software that drives our everyday lives should remain intact and free from malicious hackers and state actors wanting to persuade political outcomes or obtain sensitive information'. The judge added that the British government and the Five Eyes alliance — which includes the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — 'have been under constant attack by many of these malicious groups, mainly from state-backed hacking groups from countries such as North Korea, Russia, China and Iran'. Hacking groups, the judge said, had attempted to obtain 'malicious remote access into software that forms the backbone of UK infrastructure such as 5G telecoms, NHS health networks, power plant controllers and water infrastructure systems. It is therefore imperative that the security of the software that drives these systems is verified, controlled and secured'. • 'Cyberattack on Home Office' targets foreign healthcare workers Referring to the claimant specifically, Baty said that any Chinese individual could legally be precluded from 'working in a role, such as the lead AI role, which involved working closely on matters concerning national security'. The judge noted that the recruitment prohibition 'was a decision of customers' — the British and US defence chiefs — rather than Binary AI or Patrick-Evans. He pointed out that Patrick-Evans legitimately understood that he would not be able to offer the woman the role 'because he believed that, because she was a Chinese national, she would not be able to obtain the security clearance necessary.'
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
UK firm not racist for rejecting Chinese applicant over security concerns, tribunal rules
Refusing to give a job to Chinese and Russian people in companies that deal with issues of national security and require security clearance is not racist, an employment tribunal has ruled. It is not discriminatory to stop people from 'hostile' states taking up certain jobs in the defence sector because of the risk to British security, the judgment says. The ruling relates to the case of a Chinese scientist who accused a British AI company with ties to the UK and US defence departments of racism after she was not given a job because of security concerns. Tianlin Xu applied for a role at Binary AI Ltd but the founder of the software company, James Patrick-Evans, turned her down and employed a British man instead. He emailed her: 'Disappointingly I've come to the decision not to proceed with your application on the sole basis of your nationality. 'As a company, we work closely in sensitive areas with western governments and wish to continue to do so. We're simply not big enough of a company to ensure the separation and security controls needed to hire someone of your nationality at this stage.' Judge Baty, sitting in London, described the email as clumsy and said: 'In complete isolation, it looks like an admission of direct race discrimination on the basis of nationality.' But he said in fact Xu had been turned down as she would not get security clearance because of her nationality. The judge said: 'That reason would apply to people of any nationality where it was not possible to get security clearance (including Russian, North Korean and Iranian nationality as well as Chinese nationality). The reason is not nationality per se.' Patrick-Evans was 'strongly advised against hiring a Chinese national' by defence officials that he worked with, the tribunal heard. Binary AI had had a contract with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory – the secret site based at Porton Down in Wiltshire – and the Ministry of Defence to develop AI that could identify hidden 'back doors' inside software. Baty said in his judgment: 'It is obvious that software drives the modern world. It underpins our everyday lives and runs every sector of our state. 'Therefore, it is paramount that the security and operational capability of the software that drives our everyday lives should remain intact and free from malicious hackers and state actors wanting to persuade political outcomes or obtain sensitive information.' Xu's complaints of direct and indirect race discrimination both failed.
Telegraph
16 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Banning Chinese and Russians from security jobs ‘not racist', tribunal rules
Banning Chinese and Russians from working in sensitive national security areas in the UK is not racist because they might be spies, a tribunal has ruled. It is not discriminatory to stop people from nations that pose a threat to Britain taking up certain jobs in the defence sector due to the possibility of espionage, the judgment suggested. The precautionary measure applies to potential job candidates from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. The ruling comes after a Chinese scientist sued a British artificial intelligence (AI) company with ties to the UK and US defence departments when she was not given a job due to security concerns. Tianlin Xu applied for a £220,000 lead AI role at Binary AI, but the software company's technology boss James Patrick-Evans had to reject her. There is no suggestion that Ms Xu is a spy. Mr Patrick-Evans' start-up uses AI to identify flaws in software used by Western governments to prevent state-backed hackers from the likes of China and Russia targeting them. The 32-year-old was 'strongly advised against hiring a Chinese national' by top defence officials that he worked with, it was heard. Chinese people – like Ms Xu – would not get security clearance from governments in order to carry out the work, it was said. Ms Xu tried to sue Binary AI on grounds of race discrimination, claiming it was 'racial stigma' and 'stereotyping'. But the tribunal dismissed her claims after hearing evidence of the security concerns. The employment judge Richard Baty said in his judgment: 'It is paramount that the security and operational capability of the software that drives our everyday lives should remain intact and free from malicious hackers and state actors wanting to persuade political outcomes or obtain sensitive information. 'The UK government and its Western allies that form the Five Eyes alliance have been under constant attack by many of these malicious groups, mainly from state-backed hacking groups from countries such as North Korea, Russia, China and Iran. 'These hacking groups have tried to obtain a 'back door' or malicious remote access into software that forms the backbone of UK infrastructure such as 5G telecoms, NHS health networks, power plant controllers and water infrastructure systems. 'It is therefore imperative that the security of the software that drives these systems is verified, controlled and secured.'
