espionage

Former Conservative ministers also point to public statements, including from the former head of MI5 Ken McCallum, who in 2023 said there had been a "sustained campaign" of Chinese espionage on a "pretty epic scale".

The decision to drop charges against the pair has been criticised by MPs, including Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle who said it could leave Parliament vulnerable to espionage.

Also, hackers backed by nation states are also accounting for more attacks, whether to carry out espionage, steal IP, spread misinformation, or cause disruption, or even seek financial gain on their own account.

Earhart's disappearance during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe spawned numerous theories - from a simple crash due to fuel exhaustion to more elaborate claims of Japanese capture or US government espionage.

He said police told him that the arrest related to espionage and rendering services to a foreign country, the paper reports.