Fears Labour will scrap law to monitor Russia and China lobbyists

Scheme drawn up by Tories to force individuals and businesses acting on behalf of ‘hostile’ countries to declare activities has been delayed

A new law to monitor lobbyists from Russia and China has been delayed by the Government.
The Home Office has revealed a registration scheme for lobbyists from “hostile” countries will no longer be introduced this year.
It raises fears the Government is planning to water down or even scrap the scheme, which was designed to bolster national security.
Under the plans, drawn up by the Tories, individuals and businesses that act on behalf of a foreign state would have to sign up to a register.
It was set to be introduced this year, with the final preparations having been put in place just before Rishi Sunak called the snap election.
The Home Office revealed that the start date for the programme had now been pushed back in an update on the government website. “It is no longer expected that the scheme’s requirements will come into force in 2024,” it said.
The announcement will raise concerns that Labour is looking to soften the plans, in particular over whether to classify China as a hostile state.
Tom Tugendhat, a former security minister, championed the introduction of the register in the face of fierce opposition from some departments.
The Treasury and the Foreign Office are said to have been reluctant to sign off on the proposals and could now renew their opposition to them.
Under the scheme, countries would be separated into two tiers – a basic and an “enhanced” one – depending on the security threat they pose to Britain.
For the basic tier, individuals and businesses would only have to make declarations where they were directly lobbying the UK Government on policy.
For the enhanced tier, there would be much more stringent checks requiring people to declare any activity with the government of a hostile state.
It would mean firms dealing with the Russian government, or potentially the Chinese Communist Party, had to fill out a form registering their activity.
Registration would be compulsory, with failure to sign up carrying a jail sentence of two years for the basic tier and five years for the enhanced one.
Russia, Iran and North Korea would all be classified as hostile states, but some officials have pushed back against including China in that bracket.
Beijing’s diplomatic and economic might means the Treasury and Foreign Office have historically resisted taking a harder line towards its activities.
MPs would also have a say as Parliament would have to pass a separate piece of legislation for each country that was added to the enhanced tier.
Whitehall sources insisted the delay was because the change of government means new sign off for the scheme is required from Labour ministers.
They said Labour had backed the scheme in opposition and would introduce it.
A Home Office spokesman said: “It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect the UK against foreign interference.
“The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme will further strengthen our national security whilst maintaining the UK as an international hub for business.”