London: British intelligence services investigated an attempt by China to take over the OneWeb satellite company after it declared bankruptcy in 2020, The Telegraph reports citing a report from Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee.

Chinese bidders, including the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, were considering investment in the British satellite company before Boris Johnson’s government rescued OneWeb, the newspaper said on Sunday.

The security report cited by The Telegraph says there was an "investigation of the implications of a Chinese aerospace company’s [redacted] move to purchase a UK Low Earth Orbit satellite company, OneWeb."

The investigation was conducted by MI5 before the UK government made an investment of around $500 million in taxpayer money to rescue the satellite company.

In July of last year, French satellite operator Eutelsat announced the company's merger with the UK's OneWeb.

(With UNI inputs)