Security Minister Dan Jarvis has asserted that the government will not tolerate “covert and calculated” attempts to interfere with the UK’s sovereign affairs, following a warning from MI5 to MPs regarding the risk posed by Chinese spies.
The security services issued an alert to Members of Parliament, peers, and parliamentary staff, identifying two LinkedIn profiles allegedly used on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS).
The alert contends that these profiles function as “civilian recruitment headhunters,” targeting individuals within British politics to extract “insider insights.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the UK dismissed the espionage allegations as “pure fabrication” and accused the UK of orchestrating a “self-staged charade.”
“We strongly condemn such despicable moves of the UK side and have lodged stern representations with them,” the spokesperson stated.
They urged the UK to “stop going further down the wrong path of undermining China-UK relations.”
In response, Jarvis announced a package of measures in the House of Commons aimed at countering espionage threats to the UK.
These measures include £170m to upgrade encrypted technology for government business, alongside enhanced protections against Chinese cybercrime and attempts to influence UK university research.
Jarvis informed MPs: “Our intelligence agencies have warned that China is attempting to recruit and cultivate individuals with access to sensitive information about Parliament and the UK government.”
He added: “This activity involves a covert and calculated attempt by a foreign power to interfere with our sovereign affairs in favour of its own interests, and this government will not tolerate it.”
He cautioned that China has a “low threshold” for what it considers useful information, as it seeks to build a comprehensive intelligence picture.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and his counterpart in the House of Lords, Lord McFall, circulated the MI5 warning to MPs and peers on Tuesday.
The alert specifically identified two LinkedIn profiles using the names Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen.
In his letter to MPs, Sir Lindsay stated that both profiles were being used “to conduct outreach at scale” on behalf of the Chinese MSS.
The BBC has contacted both profiles for comment, although it remains unclear whether the women named and pictured on the networking site are the actual account holders.
In his letter to MPs, Sir Lindsay characterized Chinese state actors as “relentless” in their attempts to “interfere with our processes and influence activity at Parliament.”
He stated that the Chinese MSS was “actively reaching out to individuals in our community,” aiming to “collect information and lay the groundwork for long-term relationships, using professional networking sites, recruitment agents and consultants acting on their behalf.”
Further espionage tactics outlined in the MI5 alert include all-expenses-paid trips to China and payment for information through cash or cryptocurrency.
Targets reportedly include “Parliament staff, economists, think tank employees, geo-political consultants and those working alongside [the government] including MPs and members of the House of Lords.”
Jarvis emphasized a pattern of behavior surrounding Chinese spying attempts, against which he pledged to take “all necessary measures,” including updating and strengthening national security powers.
He announced that rules will be tightened to combat covert funding of political parties, while the Electoral Commission will be granted greater enforcement powers.
Security briefings will also be provided for all parties and candidates standing in the elections next May for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Senedd, and councils across England.
While stressing that China remains the UK’s third-largest trading partner, Jarvis affirmed that the UK will use sanctions “as necessary.”
Conservative shadow Home Office minister Alicia Kearns urged the government to increase transparency regarding China’s activities in the UK by placing the country on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS).
Currently, only Iran and Russia are designated to the enhanced tier, which requires individuals to register their activities with the government before carrying out work for these countries.
Kearns also suggested that the government should cancel planned visits to China and reject an application to build a Chinese embassy at a sensitive location in central London.
Jarvis stated that the government was “looking closely at whether it is necessary to make further additions onto the enhanced tier” for FIRS, but added that “no decision has yet been made.”
Regarding the embassy, he said the decision would be made by the housing secretary.
Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the alert demonstrated that China was adopting an “aggressive position” that “blows a hole through all of that ridiculous nonsense” concerning whether China posed a threat to UK national security.
“We have to be much, much more vigilant,” he told BBC News.
“Why is the government so unable to call China what it is, which is a persistent, continuing threat to Britain’s national security?
“That is clear to every single member of the public… but somehow the government seems to think it isn’t that clear.”
While it is acknowledged that all countries engage in espionage activities, the scale of China’s activities has generated increasing concern in recent years.
Whitehall officials have issued warnings regarding Chinese cyber attacks, intellectual property theft, and attempts to recruit British individuals in Parliament and the technology sector.
In 2022, MI5 issued an “interference alert” regarding the activities of alleged Chinese agent Christina Lee, who was believed to have infiltrated Parliament. Ms. Lee denied the allegations.
China is also believed to be gathering bulk data on the UK population, including accessing data sets containing financial, personal, or health information.
Earlier this year, MI5 boss Ken McCallum warned that Chinese state actors posed a daily national security threat to the UK.
In September, a case involving two men accused of spying for China collapsed in controversial circumstances.
One of the men was a parliamentary researcher. Both men denied wrongdoing.
The head of the Crown Prosecution Service stated that the case collapsed because it could not obtain evidence from the government referring to China as a national security threat.
However, some legal experts have questioned whether the CPS would have needed this evidence to proceed with the prosecution.
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Ministers have also been told they should have been better prepared for the closure of the Grangemouth refinery.
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The two were accused of passing information to an agent who forwarded it to a high-ranking Chinese official.