Britain’s domestic intelligence agency MI5 has issued a fresh alert to parliamentarians, warning that China’s Ministry of State Security is using fake recruitment profiles on LinkedIn to target MPs and staff in an attempt to gather sensitive information.

The warning, circulated on Tuesday by Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, names two suspected headhunters who have been “conducting outreach at scale” on behalf of Beijing.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis told the House of Commons the activity amounted to “a covert and calculated attempt by a foreign power to interfere with our sovereign affairs”. He described Chinese efforts as “relentless”.

The Chinese embassy in London rejected the allegations as “pure fabrication and malicious slander”, accusing Britain of staging a “self-staged charade of false accusations” that was damaging bilateral relations.

The alert comes just weeks after prosecutors dramatically dropped espionage charges against two British men accused of passing information useful to Beijing. The case against Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and academic Christopher Berry collapsed last month when the Crown Prosecution Service said a “critical element” was missing: the government had never officially designated China as an “enemy” – a requirement for prosecution under the century-old Official Secrets Act 1911.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer blamed the wording on the previous Conservative administration, insisting no minister or adviser in the current government had been involved in the decision.

The collapse of the trial has intensified criticism that Labour is prioritising economic ties with Beijing over national security. Shadow security minister Alicia Kearns urged ministers to block plans for a vast new Chinese embassy in east London and to cancel upcoming official visits to China.

The MI5 warning is the latest in a series of incidents underscoring Chinese intelligence activity in Britain: in 2021 Beijing-linked hackers targeted MPs’ emails, in 2022 MI5 issued an alert over London lawyer Christine Lee, who was accused of acting on behalf of China’s United Front Work Department, and in October 2024 MI5 director-general Ken McCallum warned that Chinese espionage now poses a daily threat to UK national security.

Jarvis said the new National Security Act 2023 had closed “longstanding weaknesses” in Britain’s legal arsenal, giving authorities stronger powers against state-backed threats.

The government is due to decide within weeks whether to approve China’s delayed plans for what would be Europe’s largest diplomatic compound, near the City of London. The application has been mired in controversy over security concerns and unexplained blacked-out sections in the blueprints submitted by Beijing.

A Chinese embassy spokesperson said Britain had shown a “total lack of spirit of contract” by delaying the decision. (ILKHA)