UK must "wake up" to China threat, says ex-MI6 chief

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The UK must "wake up" to the threat posed by China's challenges to global security, the ex-head of MI6 has said.

Sir Alex Younger, who led the UK's Intelligence Service between 2014 and 2020, said Western nations are "under full press of Chinese espionage".

US military have shot down four objects - including a suspected Chinese spy balloon - in the past week.

Sir Alex told the BBC the UK must place limits on tolerating countries "who behave in an unacceptable way",

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On 4 February, the US military shot down a Chinese spy balloon after it travelled over sensitive military sites across North America. China has claimed the object was a weather balloon gone astray.