Chinese hackers have been blamed for two cyber attacks targeting UK politicians and the national election commission.

APT31, a hacking group affiliated with the Chinese state, was found to be “almost certainly responsible” for targeting UK parliamentarians’ emails in 2021.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said the attacks were targeted at members who have been prominent in calling out malign activity originating in China.

Separately, computer systems at the Electoral Commission were also found to be compromised between 2021 and 2022. The NCSC said it was “highly likely” that the attackers accessed email data as well as data from the electoral register during this time.

It said the data would be used by Chinese intelligence services for large-scale espionage and repressing perceived critics in the UK.

“The malicious activities we have exposed today are indicative of a wider pattern of unacceptable behaviour we are seeing from China state-affiliated actors against the UK and around...