MI5 spy service warns UK lawmakers Chinese spies posing as headhunters

By Sam Tabahriti, Andrew MacAskill and Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's MI5 security service issued a new warning to lawmakers on Tuesday about attempts by Chinese agents to collect information and influence activity, its latest accusation that Beijing was trying to spy on the nation's parliament.

Lawmakers were told Chinese spies were targeting them by posing as headhunters or companies to make contact, with two individuals reaching out on LinkedIn to "conduct outreach at scale on behalf" of the Chinese government.

The speakers of the lower and upper houses of parliament said MI5 had said the Chinese Ministry of State Security was "actively reaching out to individuals in our community".

Britain's Security Minister Dan Jarvis told parliament the alert revealed "a covert and calculated attempt" by Beijing to interfere in UK politics and said the government would launch a counterespionage plan to address the threat.

"MI5 have stated that this activity is being carried out by a group of Chinese intelligence officers, often masked through the use of cover companies or external headhunters," he said.

The Chinese embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SPYING CASE COLLAPSED IN SEPTEMBER

The latest warning came after MI5 said in October Chinese spies were creating fake job adverts to try to lure British professionals into handing over information, with thousands of suspicious postings placed on online recruitment platforms.

Prosecutors in September abandoned a case against two British men charged with spying on members of parliament for China, saying the British government had not provided clear evidence to show that Beijing was a threat to its national security.

The collapse of the case had led to accusations from opposition politicians that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was prioritising better relations with Beijing over national security. The government denies that.

It also comes just weeks before the government must decide whether to approve a massive, new Chinese embassy in London which critics say will pose a security risk.

Jarvis told parliament that the foreign secretary had spoken to her Chinese counterpart on November 6 to say any activity which sought to undermine Britain's national security would not be tolerated.

He said in response to the threat from China and others there would be new funding for security programmes, security briefings for political parties and election candidates, plans to tighten rules on political donations, and the removal of Chinese-made surveillance equipment from sensitive sites.

UNIVERSITIES ALERTED OVER RISK TOO

Lawmakers should be careful because "China has a low threshold for what information is considered to be of value", Jarvis said, adding that China was also interfering with academic work in Britain’s universities.

He said ministers would hold a closed event with university leaders to highlight the risks of foreign interference.

In his annual speech last month, Ken McCallum, the director-general of MI5, said Chinese spies posed a daily national security threat.

In January 2022, MI5 sent out an alert notice about lawyer Christine Lee, alleging she was "involved in political interference activities" in the United Kingdom on behalf of China's ruling Communist Party.

Lee later sued MI5 in a bid to clear her name, but lost the case.

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Sarah Young and Alison Williams)