BRITAIN yesterday directly accused China of hacking for the first time after cyber crooks seized trade secrets.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt blamed Beijing for attacks made by a shadowy group dubbed APT10.

IT experts said they had identified Chinese whizzes at the heart of bids to steal tech from firms based in Europe, Asia and the US.

Foreign Office aides said our boffins had assessed “with the highest level of probability” that China was behind the breaches.

The campaign, dubbed Cloud Hopper, is said to have saved Chinese firms millions by copying more advanced Western products.

The group, also known as Stone Panda and Menupass, has been operational since 2009 at a nerve centre in Tianjin, sources said.

Its boffins are not state employees but take instructions from Chinese state security and work in tandem with government spooks.

Mr Hunt said: “This is one of the most significant and widespread cyber intrusions against the UK and allies uncovered to date, targeting trade secrets and economies around the world.

“These activities must stop.”

Mr Hunt warned the Chinese they were in clear breach of agreements made at the 2015 G20 summit.

He added: “Our message to governments prepared to enable these activities is clear, together with our allies we will expose your actions and take other necessary steps to ensure the rule of law is upheld.”

Experts from the National Cyber Security Centre will brief company bosses on how to ward off hack attacks in the New Year.

A spokesman for Theresa May said: “We’re acting now because, despite having plenty of time to conduct an investigation, the Chinese government has consistently failed to engage meaningfully on the concerns that have been raised.

“We want China to ensure all parts of the state are committed to the agreement that was made.”

The Government has pointed the finger at other states for previous hacks.

The 2017 WannaCry ransomware breach was blamed on North Korea.

Russia’s GRU military intelligence service has been accused of other attacks.