Details of millions of UK voters accessed by Chinese state, ministers will say

Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden to update MPs on cyber-attacks by Beijing, some of whom may also have been targets

The personal details of millions of voters are believed to have been accessed in an attack by China on Britain’s democratic process, ministers will say.

MPs and peers are thought to be among 43 people who the government looks set to confirm have been targeted by cyber-attacks backed by the Chinese state. The UK could impose sanctions on individuals believed to be involved in these acts of state-backed interference, one of which was a separate attack on the Electoral Commission in which Beijing accessed the personal details of about 40 million voters.