MI5 warning of lobbying efforts by a British-Chinese lawyer marks a change of tone

She has rubbed shoulders with Britain’s political elite – including former prime ministers Theresa May and David Cameron, former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn and former London mayor Ken Livingstone.

But Christine Lee has been persona non grata since Thursday, when the MI5 counterintelligence agency issued a rare warning accusing the British-Chinese lawyer of engaging in political activities in parliament on behalf of Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party.

In a warning sent to all British parliamentarians, MI5 accused Lee, 58, of acting in secret and in coordination with the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party, one of Beijing’s overseas propaganda bodies, by facilitating financial donations to political parties, parliamentarians and those seeking political assignments in the UK.

The rare warning “reflects the fact that the security services are quite concerned about what China is doing in this country, both in terms of traditional espionage, which it is not, but also in terms of modern forms of disruption and influence,” Charles Parton, a colleague at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, told the Financial Times.

MI5 says Lee, who has long lived in London, is suspected of trying to buy the favor of prominent parliamentarians, both to the right and to the left of the political spectrum.

She prefers Labor MPs and paid more than £ 580,000 (694,000 euros) to Barry Gardiner through her law firm between 2015 and 2020. “I do not feel stupid, but I feel very angry that someone tried to use me as” Gardiner said for Sky News. In a statement, he said he had “kept in touch with our security services for a number of years about Christine Lee”, adding that these agencies were fully aware of her donations to his office.

These revelations raise questions about some of the Labor Parliament’s positions, in particular his support for the 2016 Hinkley Point power plant project, which was partly funded by China. He is one of the few politicians on the left who has taken such a stance.

Lee also contributed at least £ 5,000 to Edward Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

“I know it will be deeply worrying […] “An individual who has deliberately engaged in political interference on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party has targeted parliamentarians,” Priti Patel, Britain’s Home Secretary, wrote on Twitter.

I know that it will be deeply worrying to many that a person who has deliberately engaged in political interference on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party has targeted parliamentarians.

China was quick to dismiss the allegations. “We have no need and never try to ‘buy influence’ in any foreign parliament. We strongly oppose the trick of defamation and threats against the Chinese community in Britain,” the Chinese embassy in London said in a statement.

Legal Adviser to the Chinese Embassy

As the story continued, the British tabloid press dissected Lee’s past. She arrived in Northern Ireland in the late 1970s at the age of 12 and eventually had two children with a British lawyer. In 2019, she shook the hand of Chinese President Xi Jinping at a meeting with the China Overseas Friendship Association.

One book in particular helped the British media in their research: “Hidden Hand: Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party is Reshaping the World”, a 2020 analysis of Chinese efforts to influence public debate in the West, discussed Lee’s case.

Authors Clive Hamilton and Mareike Ohlberg had reported that Lee, in addition to helping Chinese immigrants settle in the UK, had also become the chief legal adviser to the Chinese Embassy in London, “a role that clearly demonstrates the importance of this lawyer in the Chinese the eyes of the authorities “, said the authors.

Lee’s other projects included helping to create the All Party Parliamentary China Group, an informal group of parliamentarians interested in issues related to China. The group was dissolved in 2021 after more than 20 years.

Lee was also involved in the creation of at least 16 companies and organizations, most of which are related to the strengthening of Sino-British ties. In 2006, she founded the British China Project, one of the most important organizations promoting the interests of the Chinese community in the UK, which earned her an award from Theresa May 2019.

The former Prime Minister praised Lee’s work and wished her luck in “[furthering] inclusion and participation of British-Chinese in Britain’s political system ”.

MI5’s warning of Christine Lee reflects a significant change in tone in recent years regarding Britain’s position on China.

“Until now, MI5 has advocated caution when it comes to China,” Guardian defense and security editor Dan Sabbagh said in an article published on Thursday.

In previous years, British spies would never have published their suspicions in this way, says Sabbagh. Just over six years ago, when Chinese President Xi Jinping was invited to Britain for a state visit, London emphasized its friendly relations with Beijing. David Cameron, the then Prime Minister, drank pints of beer with Xi in pubs in London.

For Sabbagh, the tone of relations changed in November 2021 when the head of Britain’s MI6 spy agency, Richard Moore, announced that China had become “our number one priority”. In fact, it is likely that Lee is not the only target in Britain’s pursuit of Beijing’s agents of influence.

The authors of “Hidden Hand” even suggested that Britain had passed the “point of no return” – that the Chinese Communist Party had already succeeded in establishing a close network of influence within the British elite.