By Andrew MacAskill
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s domestic spy agency MI5 issued a rare public warning to members of parliament on Monday that they are being targeted by spies from China, Russia and Iran in an attempt to undermine the country’s democracy.
The warning comes a week after prosecutors said they had to abandon the trial of two British men charged with spying on members of parliament for China because the British government had not provided evidence showing China was a threat to its national security.
MI5 warned politicians and their staff to look out for spies seeking to elicit information from them by blackmail or phishing attacks, cultivating long-term and deep relationships with them, or making donations to influence their decisions.
“When foreign states steal vital UK information or manipulate our democratic processes they don’t just damage our security in the short-term, they erode the foundations of our sovereignty,” MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said.
MI5 urged politicians to “keep track of odd social interactions”, including frequent requests to meet privately, and to be careful if there is “overt flattery”.
In remarks accompanying the advice to members of parliament, McCallum said: “Everyone reading this guidance cares deeply about the role they play in UK democracy. Take action today to protect it – and yourself.”
In January 2022, MI5 sent out an alert notice about lawyer Christine Lee, alleging she was “involved in political interference activities” in the United Kingdom on behalf of China’s ruling Communist Party.
The warning was circulated to lawmakers by the House of Commons speaker, who said MI5 had found that Lee had “facilitated financial donations to serving and aspiring parliamentarians on behalf of foreign nationals based in Hong Kong and China”.
Lee later sued MI5 in a bid to clear her name, but lost the case.
While British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has sought to thaw ties with China since taking office last year, London and Beijing have repeatedly traded spying accusations, with British security services warning of Chinese attempts to infiltrate its political and business communities.
In the case of the recently abandoned trial, China’s embassy in London said in a statement: “We have emphasised from the outset that the allegation about China instructing the relevant British individuals to ‘steal British intelligence’ is entirely fabricated and malicious slander, which we firmly reject.”
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskillEditing by Frances Kerry)
