00:00Music
00:10Westminster is facing a fresh security warning.
00:13MI5 has alerted MPs and peers that Chinese intelligence operatives
00:17may be trying to infiltrate Parliament, posing as professional headhunters.
00:22According to The Independent, the Security Service has issued
00:25what it calls a new espionage alert,
00:28warning of a significant risk of interference from the Chinese state.
00:32In a letter to MPs and members of the House of Lords,
00:35Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said
00:38Chinese state actors are relentless in their efforts to influence parliamentary activity.
00:43He warned that China's Ministry of State Security, known as the MSS,
00:48is actively reaching out to individuals,
00:50often through professional networking sites and recruitment agents.
00:54I am writing to you now to draw your attention
00:56to the attached espionage alert issued by the Security Service, MI5, to the parliamentary community.
01:03This alert highlights how the Chinese Ministry of State Security, MSS,
01:07is actively reaching out to individuals in our community.
01:10Their aim is to collect information and lay the groundwork for long-term relationships,
01:15using professional networking sites, recruitment agents and consultants acting on their behalf.
01:21The alert named two individuals, Amanda Q, linked to BRYR Executive Search,
01:28and Shirley Shen, associated with Internship Union.
01:32Both are said to be using LinkedIn to contact people across Westminster on behalf of the MSS.
01:38The Sun reported that MI5 considers the activity widespread and targeted,
01:43and has issued what it describes red alert.
01:46Security Minister Dan Jarvis in his parliament address said,
01:49Our intelligence agencies have warned that China is attempting to recruit and cultivate individuals
01:56with access to sensitive information about parliament and the UK government.
02:01MI5 have stated that this activity is being carried out by a group of Chinese intelligence officers,
02:09often masked through the use of cover companies or external headhunters.
02:16Let me speak plainly.
02:18This activity involves a covert and calculated attempt by a foreign power
02:25to interfere with our sovereign affairs in favour of its own interests.
02:30And this government will not tolerate it.
02:33And today, I am setting out a comprehensive package of measures we are taking
02:38to disrupt and deter the threats posed by China as well as by wider state actors.
02:46Supported by ministers from across government and coordinated by myself,
02:51we are launching a counter-political interference and espionage action plan.
02:57Jarvis further added that the UK government is committing funds
03:01to renew sovereign encrypted technology used by officials
03:04to safeguard sensitive areas against espionage from hostile state actors.
03:09I can announce that the government has committed to investing $170 million
03:13to renew the sovereign encrypted technology our officials use to do their vital work.
03:20This program of work will help to ensure sensitive diplomatic, economic, trade, security,
03:27law enforcement and policy development arrangements are safeguarded from espionage
03:33by any state threat actor.
03:36I can also announce that this government has completed the removal of surveillance equipment
03:43manufactured by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People's Republic of China
03:50from all sensitive sites we maintain in the UK and around the world.
03:56There is value for the UK in engagement with China on education.
04:00However, operating in today's uncertain international context presents many challenges for our great universities.
04:08It is because of their excellence that states like China are attempting to influence their independent research
04:16and interfere with activity on campus.
04:19Ministers have already raised our concerns about this activity with their counterparts in Beijing
04:26and the Office for Students has recently issued new guidance to help universities protect the freedoms their staff and students enjoy.
04:35But as part of our ongoing commitment to work collectively to address these risks,
04:41I can announce that Ministers will host a closed event with Vice Chancellors to discuss the risks posed by foreign interference
04:50and signpost to our plans to further increase the sector's resilience.
04:55Jarvis went on to add that the UK Government will go further to disrupt dangerous Chinese offensive.
05:01Mr. Speaker, in October I told the House that this government remains steadfast in our commitment to disrupting
05:08and holding state actors accountable for wide-scale cyber espionage operations.
05:15And we stand ready to go further, to disrupt, degrade and protect against the dangerous and unrestrained
05:24offensive cyber ecosystem that China has allowed to take hold.
05:29This latest alert comes shortly after the collapse of a high-profile prosecution involving two men accused of spying for China.
05:37Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry were charged under the Official Secrets Act.
05:42But the Crown Prosecution Service said it couldn't proceed because the Deputy National Security Advisor
05:48refused to classify China as an active threat.
05:51That decision has triggered political tension.
05:54According to Sky News,
05:56Prime Minister Keir Starmer has sought to maintain workable economic ties with Beijing,
06:01while blaming previous conservative administrations for difficulties prosecutors faced under century-old legislation.
06:09For now, MI5 is urging everyone in Westminster to be vigilant,
06:13especially when approached online by unfamiliar recruiters.
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