MPs can expect MI5 warnings about Chinese spies trying to subvert Parliament will become ‘more commonplace’ as the communist regime seeks to make UK politics ‘more favorable’ towards Beijing, Priti Patel warned today.
The Home Secretary addressed the Commons in the wake of the scandal over access given to lawyer Christine Lee, who was last week outed as a Chinese agent.
Ms Lee, a Birmingham-based lawyer, donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.
The alert from the security service said the a twice-married mother of two who lives in the affluent Birmingham suburb of Coleshill, was ‘knowingly engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party’. No politicians are suspected of any criminality.
Addressing the Commons today, Ms Patel said: ‘We can expect to see these kinds of alerts become more commonplace as a result of the work of our world class intelligence agencies who have adapted to counter these new and emerging threats.’
The Home Secretary addressed the Commons in the wake of the scandal over access given to lawyer Christine Lee, who was last week outed as a Chinese agent.
Addressing the Commons today, Ms Patel said: ‘We can expect to see these kinds of alerts become more commonplace as a result of the work of our world class intelligence agencies who have adapted to counter these new and emerging threats.’
She added: ‘In this case, the aim was to make the UK political landscape more favourable to the Chinese authorities’ agenda and to challenge those… who raise concerns about the Chinese authorities’ activities on very pressing issues such as human rights.
‘I, like all members across this House, was utterly appalled that an individual who has knowingly engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party for a number of years targeted members of this Parliament.’
Ms Lee, is a…