MI5 alerts on Chinese woman spy infiltrating UK Parliament

New Delhi: MI5, the UK’s domestic intelligence agency, has warned British lawmakers that a woman connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been working to interfere in the political process, CNN reported.

MI5 alleges in an alert that Christine Ching Kui Lee has “acted covertly in coordination” with the United Front Work Department (UFWD), of the CCP and is “judged to be involved in political interference activities in the UK”, the report said.

The MI5 “interference alert” said: “We judge that the UFWD is seeking to covertly interfere in UK politics through establishing links with established and aspiring Parliamentarians across the political spectrum.”

The alert also added that Lee has been facilitating “financial donations to political parties, Parliamentarians, aspiring Parliamentarians and individuals seeking political office in the UK, including facilitating donations to political entities on behalf of foreign nationals”, CNN reported.

The UK Company Register lists Lee as a British citizen.

MI5 said that while Lee has said her UK-based activities are “to represent the UK Chinese community and increase diversity”, that those activities have “been undertaken in covert coordination with the UFWD, with funding provided by foreign nationals located in China and Hong Kong”. – IANS