"Our intelligence services have warned that China is trying to recruit and process individuals with access to sensitive information about Parliament and the British government," Security Minister Dan Jarvis said in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
According to MI5's warning, the spies often act under the guise of representing a company.
MI5 specifically points out two online profiles. They are suspected of being real recruiters working on behalf of Chinese intelligence officers to build relationships with their targets on sites such as LinkedIn.
The warning comes at a tense time. A few weeks ago, prosecutors dropped an investigation into two men, one of whom was a parliamentary researcher, who were accused of spying for China. Both politicians and MI5 have expressed frustration that the investigation was dropped.
In the background there is also a delayed decision on whether Beijing should be allowed to build a new embassy in London.
According to Jarvis, several measures are now being taken to “disrupt and deter threats” from China and other states, including increased scrutiny of political financing and security reviews for political parties. Universities will also be invited to discussions about China’s attempts to influence.
