Restoring China: CNOOC linked question
The Restore Britain’s new Holborn and St Pancras candidate works as in-house counsel for a Chinese state-owned oil company and has been involved with a diversity-focused legal charity. That combination has prompted sharp questions about candidate vetting from commentator Raheem Kassam on the same day Rupert Lowe announced the selection.
On 15 September 2026, Lowe's party posted that Tyler Johnson would stand for the party in the 8 October by-election triggered by Keir Starmer’s resignation from the seat. Lowe described Johnson as a lawyer who has lived in London for ten years, served as a school governor, volunteered in schools, mentored aspiring lawyers without connections, attends church, and lives by values of honesty and service. Lowe framed the contest as a “free hit” for remaining patriots in a seat he said mass immigration had made unwinnable for a deportation-focused party.
Employment at CNOOC Petroleum Europe Limited:
The Law Society register lists Johnson as an in-house solicitor at CNOOC Petroleum Europe Limited in Uxbridge. We identified him as Legal Counsel at CNOOC International, the overseas arm of the group, working on new ventures, M&A, operations, assets and strategy. He previously trained at Clyde & Co, including a secondment to Tanzania.
CNOOC Petroleum Europe Limited is a UK-registered company (number 01051137) whose registered office is in Uxbridge. It is part of the CNOOC group. CNOOC Limited’s controlling shareholder is China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC Group), a state-owned enterprise supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of China’s central government. The Chinese state therefore ultimately controls the corporate group.
This can be found on the UK's Companies Register that can be seen here
CNOOC International operates several North Sea assets, including the Buzzard field (one of the UK’s highest-producing fields), Golden Eagle and the Scott Area. These holdings give the company a material position in British energy production.
The Chinese legal and Party structures that apply to state-owned enterprises. Article 7 of China’s National Intelligence Law requires organisations to support and assist state intelligence work; Article 14 allows agencies to demand that assistance. China’s National Defense Law imposes mobilisation obligations and permits requisition of assets. Article 33 of the Communist Party constitution states that Party committees in state-owned companies must play a “leadership role,” implement CCP policy and “discuss and decide on major issues.” These provisions distinguish CNOOC from an ordinary privately owned foreign
energy firm.
Involvement with Urban Lawyers
Lowe’s announcement mentioned Johnson mentoring young lawyers who lack connections. Kassam noted that this work was done through Urban Lawyers, a charity founded in 2010 by barrister Dr Tunde Okewale OBE. The organisation describes its purpose as making the law more accessible to marginalised groups, educating young people from underrepresented backgrounds about their legal rights, and tackling diversity issues in the profession through workshops, mentoring and networking. It is run by a committee of young diverse legal professionals and has been described as BAME-led.
