China says it detained MI6 spy accused of collecting secrets for Britain

China says it has detained an individual accused of collecting state secrets on behalf of Britain's foreign intelligence agency MI6.

In a post shared on social media on Monday, the Ministry of State Security claimed Britain has been cooperating since 2015 with the person, who they described as a citizen of a third nation and had the surname, Huang.

The ministry said Huang allegedly received intelligence training, was provided with equipment and had collected numerous secrets on repeated visits to China.

No further information has been given on what was allegedly gathered, when the person was detained or where they are being held.

China's definition of state secrets is not clear. Many consulting and advisory firms have been investigated for obtaining data that would ordinarily be in the public domain.

These recent allegations follow a series of deteriorating relations between China and Britain, sparked by British opposition to Chinese investments in the country.

In September, British police said two men were arrested earlier last year on suspicion of spying for Beijing.

Although, the police did not name them, reports suggested the younger man was a parliamentary researcher.

China denied the spying accusations.

The British Government has declined to comment on this latest detainment - in line with their usual policy on intelligence matters.

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