MI5 has warned MPs and Peers they are being targeted by Chinese spies, after it claimed to have uncovered two recruiters linked to China’s intelligence service on Linkedin, as Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen reports
MPs and Lords have been warned by MI5 over suspected Chinese espionage via recruitment headhunters.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle issued an espionage alert to parliamentarians, claiming the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) has been trying to contact individuals in Parliament through two recruiters.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis told MPs on Tuesday that the 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”.
“China is attempting to recruit and cultivate individuals with access to sensitive information,” he said.
He also warned the Commons “it’s not just parliamentarians who should be concerned by this”, revealing that parliamentary staff, economists, think tank employees, geo-political consultants and government officials “have all been targeted for their networks and access to politicians”.
Jarvis said China has a “low threshold for what information is considered to be of value, and will gather individual pieces of information to gather a wider picture”.
The minister announced a package of measures to disrupt the threats, and that the Government is launching an “espionage action plan”.
Jarvis told MPs that his department would “stand ready to … disrupt, degrade and protect against the dangerous and unrestrained offensive cyber ecosystem that China has allowed to take hold”.
As part of measures to tackle the risk £170 million will be used to renew encrypted technology used by civil servants to safeguard sensitive work.
A further £130 million will be invested to help counter-terror police enforce the National Security Act and fund work to help businesses protect their intellectual property.
Ministers are also launching “a series of protective security campaigns”, co-ordinated by the Defending Democracy Taskforce, Jarvis said, to help those involved in politics “recognise, resist and report suspicious state threat activity”.
This will include “tailored security briefings” for devolved governments and political parties by the end of the year, and new security guidance in January for all candidates for the upcoming May elections.
It comes after the trial of two men accused of spying for China was unexpectedly dropped in September.
Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, a teacher, were charged under the Official Secrets Act 1911 in April 2024, as was the law at the time the offences took place. Both men denied any wrongdoing.
The alert sent to MPs on Tuesday names two head-hunters, Amanda Qiu (BR-YR Executive Search) and Shirly Shen (Internship Union), who are both known to be using LinkedIn profiles to reach out on behalf of China’s MSS, the email said.
The MI5 alert details how the Chinese intelligence service may try to recruit a target.
The message said: “I am writing to you now to draw your attention to the attached Espionage Alert issued by the Security Service, MI5, to the parliamentary community.
“This alert highlights how the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) is actively reaching out to individuals in our community.
“Their aim is to collect information and lay the groundwork for long-term relationships, using professional networking sites, recruitment agents and consultants acting on their behalf.
“The alert names two recruitment head-hunters: Amanda Qiu (BR-YR Executive Search) and Shirly Shen (Internship Union). Both are known to be using LinkedIn profiles to conduct outreach at scale on behalf of MSS.
“The alert also highlights that other similar profiles are acting as fronts for espionage. MI5 has issued this alert because the activity is targeted and widespread.”
The Tories pressed the government to place China in the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme (Firs).
Shadow Home Office minister Alicia Kearns also called on the government to reject the proposed embassy in London or require the Chinese government to pay “for sensitive underground cables to be rerouted away” from it.
The Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokeswoman Lisa Smart said the plan is “not sufficient” by itself and also called for the proposed embassy near Tower Bridge to be rejected.
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