MI5 Issues Urgent Warning on Chinese Espionage Targeting UK Lawmakers and Public via LinkedIn

MI5 Alerts UK Parliament to Widespread Chinese Espionage

Britain's domestic intelligence agency, MI5, issued an urgent warning on November 18, 2025, alerting Members of Parliament, peers, and the wider public to persistent espionage efforts by Chinese intelligence services. The warning specifically highlighted the use of professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn, where Chinese agents are posing as headhunters and recruiters to cultivate relationships and gather sensitive information.

The alert, relayed by House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and House of Lords Speaker Lord McFall, underscored that Chinese state actors are 'relentless' in their attempts to 'interfere with our processes and influence activity at parliament'.

Tactics and Targets of Chinese Intelligence

MI5's warning detailed that Chinese spies are employing sophisticated tactics, including the creation of fake online profiles, sometimes depicting young women with Anglicized names, to approach individuals. These operatives, working on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), aim to collect 'non-public and insider insights' and lay the groundwork for long-term intelligence-gathering relationships.

The intelligence agency specifically named two LinkedIn profiles, Amanda Qiu (associated with BR-YR Executive Search) and Shirly Shen (linked to Internship Union), as fronts for these espionage activities. Both accounts have since been deleted. Targets include a broad spectrum of individuals with access to valuable information, such as:

• Members of Parliament and parliamentary staff
• Economists
• Think tank employees and geopolitical consultants
• Government officials

Security Minister Dan Jarvis emphasized that China has a 'low threshold' for what information it considers useful, seeking to build a wider intelligence picture.

Government Response and Previous Warnings

In response to the escalating threat, Security Minister Dan Jarvis announced a new Counter Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan. This plan includes enhanced security briefings for MPs, Lords, and election candidates, collaboration with tech platforms to disrupt hostile outreach, legislative reforms to tighten foreign influence reporting, and a significant investment of £170 million to upgrade encrypted technology for civil servants.

This latest alert follows previous warnings from MI5. In 2023, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum revealed that over 20,000 individuals in the UK had been approached online by Chinese agents, describing the scale of Chinese espionage as 'epic'. McCallum has consistently stated that Chinese state actors pose a national security threat to the UK 'every day'. The Chinese Embassy in London, however, dismissed the recent allegations as 'pure fabrication and malicious slander'.