Ian Williams Ian Williams

Britain is finally waking up to China’s influence operations

Christine Lee’s solicitors office in London. Lee has been accused of engaging in political interference in parliament on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (photo: Getty)

The biggest surprise in Thursday’s security warning about a Chinese agent seeking to influence British politicians is that it came as a surprise at all. The Chinese Communist Party operates a vast and growing influence operation in Britain, which has pretty much been allowed free rein.



The warning came from MI5 in the form of an ‘interference alert’ sent to House of Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsey Hoyle, which he then passed on to MPs. It warned that Christine Lee, a lawyer, was ‘knowingly engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist party.’

Lee was accused of attempting to influence several MPs from the Labour, Lib Dems and Conservative parties through donations or ‘donations in kind’. Among them was Labour MP Barry Gardiner, whose office received over £400,000 in donations. Lee’s son was employed as a diary manager for Gardiner, who generally took a pro-Beijing line while he was in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.

In a statement on Thursday, the Brent North MP said the donations were fully declared, and he had been ‘liaising with our security services for a number of years about Christine Lee’. He said he made MI5 fully aware ‘of her engagement with my office and the donations she made to fund researchers in my office in the past’.

Lee also made a £5,000 donation to the local party association of Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey while he was energy secretary in the coalition government. A spokesman for the party said Sir Ed was ‘shocked by these revelations’

Lee even received a ‘Points of Light’ award from Theresa May when she was prime minister. In a personal message, May praised Lee for ‘promoting engagement, understanding, and cooperation between the Chinese and British communities in the UK.’



Lee, who is affiliated with the Chinese Overseas Friendship Association, reportedly targeted members of the now disbanded parliamentary group, Chinese in Britain.

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