I spy

For some time now, people have warned that the historic Palace of WestminsterWhere the UK's House of Commons and House of Lords meet. is infested with mice. Little did they know it had also been infiltratedWhen someone has secretly become part of a group to gain information about it. by a rat.

Over the weekend, the Sunday Times named a parliamentary aideAssistants to officials and politicians in parliament. who was arrested on charges of being a Chinese spy in March.

Some think it is silly to be in such an uproar. They say everyone knows that countries spy on each other. The fact China was caught is probably a good sign: it means it is not very good at it.

Spying has always been a part of life, going back thousands of years. Military theorist Sun TzuA Chinese military general and philosopher who lived in the Eastern Zhou period. , writing in the 4th Century BC, wrote that a good commander needed spies in the enemy ranks.

But modern espionageSpying. goes back to Francis Walsingham, spymaster of Elizabeth I of England. He maintained a vast network of agents in England and abroad.

These days, espionage takes place on a vast scale. Spies recruit double agents abroad and keep tabs on terrorist groups at home. They fight a shadow cyberwar with enemy powers.

Some think we should treat spies in the same way as soldiers. They are allowed to break the normal moral rules because they do it for the greater good.

Moreover, they argue, spies often do what they do for lofty ideals. They genuinely want to keep ordinary people safe from foreign and terror threats.

But others say spies often do not have such good intentions. They argue the intelligence services mostly just want to maintain their own power.

And far from protecting the public, they argue, they actually put them in harm's way. Agents often recruit ordinary people to spy for them. If these informants are discovered, their fates are grim.

In 2021, it emerged that dozens of CIAThe Central Intelligence Agency is a US government organisation that collects secret information about other countries. informantsA person who gives information. had been exposed in China and Iran. Many of them were killed.¹

Yes: Spying is a dirty business that causes the most harm to innocent people who just happen to get in the way. And spies have too much power over the governments they supposedly serve.

No: At the end of the day, espionage makes us all safer. It ensures enemy nations and organisations cannot shut down vital systems, steal our information, or even invade us.

Or... Spying is a fact of life. It has been going on for millennia and for as long as states exist it will carry on. So it is not really a question of whether or not it is moral, but of whether or not it can be done in a more moral way.