Dutifully, her firm also trumpeted its support for Chinese president Xi Jinping’s “Belt and Road” initiative, which has been criticised as an attempt to lure a string of developing nations into so-called debt trap diplomacy.

She was at one stage endorsed by UK Trade and Investment, a government agency that was later replaced by the Department of International Trade, now run by Anne-Marie Trevelyan.

And speaking to a Chinese business publication, she proffered advice to Chinese firms seeking to swoop on their rivals in the UK.

One client who sought Ms Lee’s advice on its new venture in the UK was Guangdong Taienkang Pharmaceutical.

A major provider of medical goods to more than 1,000 hospitals at home, particular personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, the firm wanted to break into the potentially lucrative market in Britain and win business from the NHS.

According to company filings, the Chinese firm enlisted Ms Lee for advice on compliance after setting up a UK subsidiary in the early stages of the pandemic.

It came as a shock to a spokesman contacted by The Telegraph yesterday, who claimed to have no knowledge of the firm’s affiliation with Lee – now outed as a spy.

And in spite of support from Ms Lee with regulatory matters, the company’s foray into Britain seems to have been met with little success ultimately.

“We’ve not had any contracts with the Government, or any with the NHS so far,” the spokesman confessed.

“We’ve supplied a few media and film outlets but nothing more than that. In truth, we were a bit late to the party.”

Rubbing shoulders with big business

Ms Lee was also an active figure in her local business community, sitting on the Leicester Square-Piccadilly Circus property owner business improvement district.

Through this forum, she would have rubbed shoulders with representatives from some of Britain’s biggest commercial landlords, including Shaftesbury, Landsec and The Crown Estate.