A spokeswoman for the Speaker’s office said: “The Speaker takes the security of Members and the democratic process very seriously, which is why he issued this notice in consultation with the security services. 

“There is no further comment on this matter.”

Tory MP Bob Seely, who is a member of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed concern that a Chinese agent appeared to have been operating in Parliament.

“It’s clearly serious that there appear to be actual agents of a foreign, adversarial power in Parliament. I congratulate MI5 on their work,” he told the PA news agency.

“However, I do fear that we have been complacent about the threat posed by the Chinese Communist regime, in much the same way that we were and in some respects still are complacent about Russian influence peddling in the UK.

“We should remember that co-opting, subverting and corrupting in today’s world is often done not through formal agents, but often through informal agents: people such as powerful business people and oligarchs, think tanks, through the funding of universities and the use of ‘lawfare’, etc.

“This is why we need a comprehensive approach to Russia and China that understands the comprehensive nature of the problem. We are improving but we need to do more.”

Barry Gardiner statement, in full

Today the Parliamentary Security Director issued a Security Service Interference Alert in relation to Christine Lee and her attempts to engage in political interference on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party. 

I have been liaising with our security services for a number of years about Christine Lee and they have always known, and been made fully aware by me, of her engagement with my office and the donations she made to fund researchers in my office in the past. 

Steps were taken to ensure Christine Lee had no role in either the appointment or management of those researchers. 

They are also aware that I have not benefited personally from those donations in any way. 

She ceased funding any workers in my office in June 2020. 

All the donations were properly reported in the register of members’ interests and their source verified at the time. 

I have been assured by the security services that whilst they have definitively identified improper funding channelled through Christine Lee, this does not relate to any funding received by my office. 

Christine Lee’s son volunteered in my office many years ago and was subsequently employed by me as a diary manager. 

He resigned from my employment earlier today. 

The Security Services have advised me that they have no intelligence that shows he was aware of, or complicit in, his mother’s illegal activity. 

I will continue to work closely with our security services in this and all other matters that relate to the security of our country.

What did the MI5 warning say?

The Security Service Interference Alert, regarding Christine Ching Kui Lee and issued by MI5, said Lee has “acted covertly” in co-ordination with the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and is “judged to be involved in political interference activities in the UK”.