The domestic British intelligence agency, MI5, has warned that the Chinese government has infiltrated the country’s Parliament.
The agency said that Christine Ching Kui Lee, a Chinese-born British lawyer, had been establishing relationships for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with current and aspiring Westminster MPs.
According to the BBC, MI5 said that Lee’s involvement at Westminster had ‘been undertaken in covert coordination with the United Front Work Department [of the CCP], with funding provided by foreign nationals located in China and Hong Kong’.
The United Front Work Department is a body of the CCP which aims to influence significant individuals and organisations both in China and abroad.
The Chinese Embassy in the UK denied the allegations, saying in a statement on its website: ‘China always adheres to the principle of non-interference in other country’s internal affairs. We have no need and never seek to “buy influence” in any foreign parliament. We firmly oppose the trick of smearing and intimidation against the Chinese community in the UK.’
The home secretary, Priti Patel, called the report ‘deeply concerning’ but said that the British government had systems in place to identify foreign influence and interference.
The Chinese government has previously been accused of trying to secure assets in the governments or legislatures of a number of countries, notably Australia and New Zealand.