Chinese spy: Alerts about foreign interference in British politics will become more common, Priti Patel tells MPs

Alerts about foreign interference in British politics will become more common in the future, the home secretary has said.

Delivering a statement to MPs in the Commons, Priti Patel said the government would introduce new legislation to give the security services and agencies the “tools they need to disrupt the full range of state threats”.

“We can expect to see these kinds of alerts become more commonplace as a result of the work of our world class intelligence agencies who have adapted to counter these new and emerging threats,” the home secretary said.

“We are developing new national security legislation to make it even harder for a malign state to conduct such activities.

“We are also taking further steps to protect the integrity of our democracy, tackling electoral fraud and preventing foreign interreference in elections, with the Elections Bill.”

She was speaking after it was revealed last week that MI5 has warned that a Chinese government agent has been working in parliament “to subvert the processes”.

A letter was sent to MPs by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who said MI5 warned him a woman called Christine Lee has been “engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, engaging with members here at parliament”.

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