Britain’s domestic intelligence agency has issued a fresh warning that Chinese spies are approaching lawmakers and other influential figures through LinkedIn and professional recruiters to build long-term influence networks.
House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle informed MPs on Tuesday about a new MI5 “espionage alert” that says Chinese nationals linked to the Ministry of State Security are conducting large-scale outreach using LinkedIn profiles, headhunters and cover firms.
Their objective is to gather information and cultivate relationships that could later be exploited, Hoyle said. MI5 raised the alert because the activity is both “targeted and widespread.” The notice identified two women — Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen — as among those allegedly fronting for Chinese intelligence.
Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis told MPs that not only parliamentary staff but also economists, think tank researchers and government officials have been targeted. He described the outreach as “a covert and calculated attempt by a foreign power to interfere with our sovereign affairs.”
U.K. intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned in recent years about espionage risks linked to China, one of Britain’s biggest trading partners. Jarvis said the government is taking new steps, including a £170 million investment to upgrade encrypted systems used by civil servants. Opposition parties argue the response remains too cautious due to concerns over damaging economic ties with Beijing.
Spy case collapse draws scrutiny
The warning follows widespread criticism over the collapse of a high-profile prosecution involving two men accused of spying for China. Academic Christopher Berry and parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash had been charged with providing sensitive information between 2021 and 2023 but saw their case dropped in September.
Prosecutors said the trial could not proceed because the government declined to testify under oath about whether China constituted a national security threat at the time. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected accusations that ministers interfered.
MI5 previously raised an alert in 2022 accusing London-based lawyer Christine Lee of engaging in political interference activities in coordination with the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, including facilitating covert donations to British politicians.
MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum recently warned that Chinese state-linked actors pose a daily threat to U.K. security through cyberespionage, technology theft and “covert efforts to interfere in public life.”