MI5 warns Chinese spies are targeting UK lawmakers on LinkedIn
The ‘espionage alert’ warned that Chinese nationals were ‘actively’ reaching out to lawmakers via recruitment headhunters
Britain’s domestic intelligence agency on Tuesday warned lawmakers that Chinese spies were actively reaching out to “recruit and cultivate” them via headhunters or cover companies.
Writing to lawmakers, House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said a new MI5 “espionage alert” warned that Chinese nationals were “using LinkedIn profiles to conduct outreach at scale” on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security.
“Their aim is to collect information and lay the groundwork for long-term relationships, using professional networking sites, recruitment agents and consultants acting on their behalf,” he said.
MI5 issued the alert because the activity was “targeted and widespread”, he added.
The alert named two women, Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen, and said other similar recruiters’ profiles were acting as fronts for espionage.
Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis said that apart from parliamentary staff, others including economists, think tank consultants and government officials have been similarly targeted.