Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has criticised Oliver Dowden's response to China's latest cyber attack against the UK.
This comes as the Deputy Prime Minister condemned the "malicious" attacks by "China affiliated actors", and imposed sanctions on those responsible.
Speaking in response to Dowden's statement this afternoon in the House of Commons, Iain Duncan Smith welcomed the sanctions, but claimed they are the equivalent of an "elephant giving birth to a mouse".
Sanctions have been implemented on Zhao Guangzong, Ni Gaobin and the Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company Ltd, who they say work for the China state-affiliated cyber espionage group Advanced Persistent Threat Group 31 (APT31).
Iain Duncan Smith says Oliver Dowden's response was 'tortuous'
PA / GB News
Expanding on his thoughts on Dowden's response to the cyber attacks, Duncan Smith told GB News that the statement given by the Deputy Prime Minister was a "torturous procedure".
In a discussion with Nigel Farage, the former Tory party leader admitted he "couldn't understand" why the attacks, found to have taken place in 2022, had been "hyped up" by the party in such a way.
Duncan Smith explained: "It's a tiny thing they're doing. The company, the entity, by the way, is tiny.
"It's literally a few hundred thousand in terms of turnover, and a tiny number of people. So really pathetic and very small when we know that."
Oliver Dowden said China's cyber attacks were 'malicious'
GB News
He recalled having sanctions imposed on himself by China, and revealed that after three years of having the sanction first issued, "nothing has happened".
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Sir Iain Duncan Smith told Nigel Farage: "We were sanctioned three years ago tomorrow - what's actually happened over sanctioning is nothing.
"They've trashed the Sino-British agreement, America sanctioned over 40 senior people in Hong Kong. For that, we have sanctioned no one, and we used to run the place and we're the signatories to the agreement. It goes on and on."
Nigel agreed with Duncan Smith, asking him: "Isn't the truth of it that there are many in upper levels of the British establishment who, when they retire from politics or very senior jobs in the civil service, even the intelligence services, finish up as very lucrative contracts as non-executive directors of Chinese companies?"
Duncan Smith was in agreement, responding: "Yes, I think you were meaning to say lickspittle and supporters of the Chinese Communist Party, but I have to say that I'm afraid China understands us perhaps sometimes better than we understand ourselves."
The former Conservative leader said China 'knows the UK more than we know ourselves'
GB News
He continued: "They know that what galvanises some people, the great and the good, is somehow, if you pay them a lot of money, they can somehow find how wonderful you are, even though they may have been on the other side of the fence. And that, I'm afraid, is what has been going on."
Nigel asked: "That's pretty effective isn't it?"
Duncan Smith replied: "Yeah, they're out there. I've been attacked God knows how many times.
"Luke de Pulford's been attacked many, many times, by the very same people who are in receipt of the Emperor's Yuan."