Matthew Trickett, a British man accused of spying for Hong Kong, was found dead in the park

According to the British news agency PA, Trickett was most recently employed as an immigration officer and private investigator.

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Hong Kong leader John Lee criticizes the “unjustified” allegations of espionage by the British authorities

Hong Kong leader John Lee criticizes the “unjustified” allegations of espionage by the British authorities

“The investigation into the death is ongoing and is currently considered unexplained,” police said in a statement.

“A post-mortem examination will be carried out in due course.”

Police appealed to the public for information, particularly “information about anyone who was in Grenfell Park on Sunday afternoon before 5:15 p.m.”

Trickett, from southeast England, was one of three men charged in the Hong Kong espionage case.

He was previously employed by the UK Border Police at Heathrow Airport before moving to the Home Office’s immigration department on February 21, 2024, PA said.

He was also a director of MTR Consultancy, a security company founded in April 2021.

He was released on bail along with 38-year-old Peter Wai Chi-leung and 63-year-old Bill Yuen Chung-biu until they return to court on Friday.

Yuen was the London office chief of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office.

Trickett’s attorney, Julian Hayes, said he was “shocked” by Tuesday’s news and supported Trickett’s family. He declined to comment because the investigation was ongoing.

The three were charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service and foreign interference, in violation of the National Security Act of 2023.

The law came into force in December and is intended to strengthen the UK’s national security against “hostile activities” that target the country’s democratic institutions, economy and values.

Police previously said the “foreign intelligence agency” in question was Hong Kong’s.

Eleven people were arrested this month as part of the British police investigation.

The case has fueled a diplomatic row between Britain and China. The British Foreign Office summoned the Chinese ambassador on May 14 and declared that espionage and cyberattacks on British soil were unacceptable.

China’s foreign policy chief for its territory of Hong Kong condemned Britain “in the strongest possible terms” for “fabricating allegations” and accused it of having a “malicious intention to interfere in Hong Kong’s affairs”.

The office warned that Britain would receive “China’s decisive and strong retaliation.”

The United Kingdom has been outspoken about the Hong Kong government’s new national security law, which it says undermines the territory’s rights and freedoms.

Britain has repeatedly denounced the treatment of pro-democracy activists in its former colony and introduced a visa program to allow Hong Kong residents to enter Britain.

Hong Kong police last year issued a wanted list of eight foreign activists, including former opposition lawmaker Nathan Law Kwun-chung.

The Trickett case comes after two men, one of whom works in the British Parliament, were charged last month with spying for China and are due to go on trial next year.

Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg