Chinese state media gets rare response from British spy chief after posting ‘rib-tickling’ spy spoof online

Sketch by official Xinhua news agency used fictitious spies named ‘James Pond’ and ‘Black Window’ plus canned laughter to attack British and US intelligence

MI6 head Richard Moore thanked the agency on Twitter for the ‘free publicity’ and provided a link to a speech warning of Chinese ‘political coercion’

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“James Pond” and “Black Window” in the spoof. Photo: Youtube

Published: 5:35pm, 6 Jan 2022Updated: 6:55pm, 6 Jan 2022

Britain’s spy chief on Thursday thanked China’s state news agency for the “free publicity” after it posted a spoof of James Bond that mocked the Western intelligence community’s growing focus on threats posed by Beijing.

The rare response by MI6 head Richard Moore comes as China and Britain clash over Beijing’s treatment of its Uygur minority and the crackdown in the former British colony of Hong Kong.

Moore – code-named “C” within the agency – previously said adapting to China’s rise was the spy service’s “single greatest priority” and warned of Chinese “debt traps, data exposure and vulnerability to political coercion”.

Debt traps refer to concerns that China is extracting concessions such as the use of ports from countries that sign up to its belt and road infrastructure initiative when they default on loan repayments.

In a tongue-in-cheek Twitter post on Tuesday, state news agency Xinhua said it had uncovered “leaked video” of a “secret meeting” between British and American spies after Moore bumped Beijing higher on MI6’s agenda.

The attached clip – titled No Time to Die Laughing – featured a pair of Chinese actors playing fictional British spies called “James Pond” and “Black Window”.

In his Thursday response, Moore tweeted: “Thank you for your interest (and the unexpected free publicity!).”