China on Monday refuted a British media report that attributed the loss of a British official's mobile phone to "a trap" by Chinese intelligence agents.

"The relevant report is purely out of thin air, and we hope there would not be such an irresponsible report in the future," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao in a press release.

According to the Sunday Times, an aide to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was suspected to be trapped by Chinese intelligence agents into losing his BlackBerry mobile device while on a trip to China in January.

The British prime minister's office, after an investigation, denied the report and said the BlackBerry had instead been lost at an "evening event."

"We have taken note of the British government's clarification," the spokesman said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 22, 2008)