MI5 warns MPs and peers over risk of Chinese espionage

Members of the House of Lords and members have been warned by MI5 that they could be in danger of espionage from the Chinese state. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, and his colleague, Lord McFall, have released a new espionage warning issued by the security services. In an email to MPs, Sir Lindsay said that Chinese state actors were relentless in their attempts to

interfere with our processes and influence in Parliament.

Actively reaching out to individuals in our community,he said, and that they wanted tocollect data and lay the groundwork for long-term partnerships" by using professional networking portals, recruitment consultants, and consultants working on their behalf.

According to MI5's alert, false personas approach is intended to

work as freelance consultants authoring geopolitical papers. It specifically names two LinkedIn profiles that it claims are used on behalf of the MSS. According to the alert, they act as

civilian recruitment head-hunters,

recruiting people working in British politics for the MSS, as well as

non-public and insider insights. Other aspects of espionage included in the MI5 alert include all-expenses paid trips to China, as well as payment for information in cash or cryptocurrency.

Parliament employees, economists, think tank workers, geo-political consultants, and others working alongside [the government] include MPs and members of the House of Lords,

according to the government. Dan Jarvis, the country's intelligence minister, will speak at the House of Commons later today on the steps taken to combat Chinese espionage.