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Former UK Marine Charged with Spying Found Dead in London

A view of the British capital, London. (Reuters)
A view of the British capital, London. (Reuters)
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Former UK Marine Charged with Spying Found Dead in London

A view of the British capital, London. (Reuters)
A view of the British capital, London. (Reuters)

A former member of the UK's Royal Marines, bailed by a court last week over allegations of assisting Hong Kong's intelligence services in a Chinese-linked espionage case, has been found dead, British police said Tuesday.

Matthew Trickett, 37, was found dead in a park in Maidenhead, west of London, on Sunday following a report by a member of the public, Thames Valley Police said, according to AFP.

Trickett had more recently been employed as an immigration enforcement officer and private investigator, the UK's PA news agency reported.

He was formerly employed by the UK Border Force at Heathrow Airport, before joining Home Office Immigration Enforcement on February 21, 2024, PA said.

“An investigation is ongoing into the death, which is currently being treated as unexplained,” the police force said in a statement.

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

The three suspects were arrested early this month. Trickett was then released on bail along with Chi Leung Wai, 38, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63, pending their next court appearance, scheduled to take place on Friday.

Between December 20, 2023, and May 2, 2024, they are accused of agreeing to undertake information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception that were likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service.

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Germany’s President Dissolves Parliament, Sets National Election for Feb. 23

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolves the German parliament, the Bundestag, during a statement to the media, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote, at Bellevue palace in Berlin, Germany December 27, 2024. (Reuters)
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolves the German parliament, the Bundestag, during a statement to the media, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote, at Bellevue palace in Berlin, Germany December 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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Germany’s President Dissolves Parliament, Sets National Election for Feb. 23

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolves the German parliament, the Bundestag, during a statement to the media, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote, at Bellevue palace in Berlin, Germany December 27, 2024. (Reuters)
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolves the German parliament, the Bundestag, during a statement to the media, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote, at Bellevue palace in Berlin, Germany December 27, 2024. (Reuters)

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday ordered parliament dissolved and set new elections for Feb. 23 in the wake of the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition.

Scholz lost a confidence vote on Dec. 16 and leads a minority government after his unpopular and notoriously rancorous three-party coalition collapsed on Nov. 6 when he fired his finance minister in a dispute over how to revitalize Germany’s stagnant economy.

Leaders of several major parties then agreed that a parliamentary election should be held on Feb. 23, seven months earlier than originally planned.

Since the post-World War II constitution doesn’t allow the Bundestag to dissolve itself, it was up to Steinmeier to decide whether to dissolve parliament and call an election. He had 21 days to make that decision. Once parliament is dissolved, the election must be held within 60 days.

In practice, the campaign is already well underway. Polls show Scholz’s party trailing the conservative opposition Union bloc led by Friedrich Merz. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck of the environmentalist Greens, the remaining partner in Scholz’s government, is also bidding for the top job — though his party is further back. If recent polls hold up, the likely next government would be led by Merz as chancellor in coalition with at least one other party.

Key issues include immigration, how to get the sluggish economy going, and how best to aid Ukraine in its struggle against Russia.

The populist, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which is polling strongly, has nominated Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor but has no chance of taking the job because other parties refuse to work with it.

Germany’s electoral system traditionally produces coalitions, and polls show no party anywhere near an absolute majority on its own. The election is expected to be followed by weeks of negotiations to form a new government.

It’s only the fourth time that the Bundestag has been dissolved ahead of schedule under Germany’s post-World War II constitution. It happened under Chancellor Willy Brandt in 1972, Helmut Kohl in 1982 and Gerhard Schroeder in 2005. Schroeder used the confidence vote to engineer an early election narrowly won by center-right challenger Angela Merkel.