MI5 issues new China espionage warning after spies pose as headhunters on LinkedIn to target MPs
Chinese spies accused of using LinkedIn to target MPs for intelligence gathering
- MI5 has issued an alert warning that Chinese spies are using LinkedIn, posing as headhunters, to target UK Members of Parliament and government officials for intelligence gathering.
- Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle identified specific profiles, Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen, as being used by the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) to interfere with parliamentary processes.
- Security minister Dan Jarvis condemned China's "covert and calculated" attempts to interfere in UK affairs, vowing to protect against its "dangerous and unrestrained offensive cyber ecosystem".
- The Chinese embassy in the UK dismissed the allegations as "pure fabrication and malicious slander", branding them "a charade".
- The UK government announced a new Counter Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan, including significant investment in security and intelligence, and is considering classifying China as an enhanced-tier threat following a recently collapsed espionage trial.