MI5 warns MPs and peers over risk of Chinese espionage
BBCMPs and members of the House of Lords have been warned by MI5 that they face a significant risk of espionage from the Chinese state.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and his counterpart in the House of Lords, Lord McFall, have circulated a new “espionage alert” issued by the security services.
Writing to MPs, Sir Lindsay said Chinese state actors were “relentless” in trying to “interfere with our processes and influence activity at Parliament”.
He said the Chinese Ministry of State Security was “actively reaching out to individuals in our community”, and that they wanted to “collect information and lay the groundwork for long-term relationships, using professional networking sites, recruitment agents and consultants acting on their behalf”.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis will address the House of Commons later on measures the government is taking to combat Chinese espionage.
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