MI5 has warned UK MPs that Chinese intelligence officers are using LinkedIn profiles and recruitment headhunters to contact lawmakers, aiming to gather information and build long‑term relationships. The alert named recruiters Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen and said similar profiles may be acting as espionage fronts. MI5 Director‑General Ken McCallum has warned that Chinese state actors pose a daily national security threat, citing cyberespionage and covert interference. A 2022 alert similarly accused lawyer Christine Lee of facilitating covert political influence.
MI5 Warns MPs: Chinese Operatives Using LinkedIn Headhunters to Target UK Lawmakers
MI5 has warned UK MPs that Chinese intelligence officers are using LinkedIn profiles and recruitment headhunters to contact lawmakers, aiming to gather information and build long‑term relationships. The alert named recruiters Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen and said similar profiles may be acting as espionage fronts. MI5 Director‑General Ken McCallum has warned that Chinese state actors pose a daily national security threat, citing cyberespionage and covert interference. A 2022 alert similarly accused lawyer Christine Lee of facilitating covert political influence.
02:41 PM, 11/18/2025Security
MI5 warns MPs that Chinese operatives are using LinkedIn and recruitment headhunters
LONDON — Britain’s domestic security service has warned members of Parliament that Chinese intelligence operatives are actively contacting MPs through LinkedIn profiles and recruitment headhunters. The notice, circulated by House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, describes the activity as "targeted and widespread."
Hoyle said the MI5 "espionage alert" reported Chinese nationals were "using LinkedIn profiles to conduct outreach at scale" on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security. "Their aim is to collect information and lay the groundwork for long-term relationships, using professional networking sites, recruitment agents and consultants acting on their behalf," he wrote.
MI5 named two recruiters, Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen, and warned that other similar profiles appear to be fronts for espionage. The service said the profiles use plausible professional covers to build relationships that could be exploited for intelligence gathering.
MI5 Director‑General Ken McCallum told reporters last month that Chinese state actors pose a national security threat to the U.K. "every day," citing cyberespionage, theft of technology secrets and covert interference in public life.
In January 2022 the Security Service issued a comparable alert after identifying a London‑based lawyer, Christine Lee, whom it accused of coordinating covert donations and other political interference activities linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department.
The MI5 notice is part of a broader, sustained effort by British intelligence to warn public officials about attempts at influence and espionage. MPs have been advised to be cautious when interacting with unsolicited approaches on professional networking sites and to report suspicious contacts to security officials.