London claims China is trying to influence the British Parliament.
In an email sent to members of both houses by the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lords, MI5 has issued a new intelligence alert claiming that China’s Ministry of State Security is actively contacting members of parliament via professional networking sites, fake recruitment firms and so-called independent consultants. The message states that the purpose of these contacts is to “gather information and lay the groundwork for long-term relationships” with influential figures in the UK policy environment.
The alert, which was published by British media, claims that two individuals, posing as private recruitment and executive search consultants, are widely contacting parliamentary staff and advisers on LinkedIn and are building relationships on a large scale for China’s Ministry of State Security.
The new warning comes as London’s political climate continues to be dominated by a high-profile court case in which two British nationals were accused of working with Beijing on intelligence, but prosecutors ultimately dropped the case after the government refused to provide the necessary evidence to prove China was an “enemy” under old laws. The decision has sparked a wide-ranging debate over whether China can be formally designated as an “enemy” under World War I-era laws, with Britain’s two traditional parties accusing each other of failing to act.
In parallel with these developments, Britain’s intelligence and cybersecurity agencies have repeatedly issued broader warnings about alleged Chinese intelligence activities in recent months and years. Some of these reports, including previous MI5 warnings, stated that “Chinese agents” were attempting to gather unclassified but sensitive information and influence long-term decision-making by publishing fake job advertisements, creating fake accounts on professional networks, and contacting academics, experts in sensitive industries, and civil servants. The British media had previously uncovered cases in which LinkedIn and job advertisements were used as a means to gain access to officials and experts.
The Chinese embassy in London has not yet issued an official response to the new MI5 warning, but Beijing has repeatedly described accusations of espionage and attempts at political influence in the UK in previous years as “baseless” and “politically motivated”. Chinese officials have always called for relations between the two countries to be based on “mutual respect” and a focus on economic and trade cooperation, not security.