Parliamentarians warned by MI5 over Chinese spying threats

MPs and peers have been warned by MI5 over spying threats from Chinese security services.

Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle wrote to parliamentarians on Tuesday to alert them to the “espionage alert” issued by MI5 highlighting how the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) is trying to reach out to those in Westminster.

“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,” he said.

The alert names two headhunters 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 alert said: “The Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) seek to collect sensitive information on the UK to gain strategic advantage.

“Following recent examples of attempts to target UK Parliament for intelligence gathering, this espionage alert seeks to highlight typical MSS tradecraft and methodology from a specific group of highly active officers.”

It warns that officers target political and economic information, particularly that is classified or sensitive in nature.

People with direct access to information on the UK democratic system are high priority targets for MSS, and those close to potential access.

Parliament staff, economists, think tank employees and those working alongside the Government have been targeted for their networks, it said, including MPs and peers.

Sir Lindsay added: “It is of the utmost importance that we all understand how this activity happens and how to protect ourselves against it. We all have a responsibility to keep Parliament safe.

“The Lord Speaker is also writing in similar terms to members’ staff in the House of Lords.”

It comes as security minister Dan Jarvis addressed MPs on Chinese espionage and the Government’s security response on Tuesday.