Authorities say security services have warned lawmakers that a suspected Chinese agent is "deliberately engaging in political interference" inside parliament.
According to the French news agency AFP, the office of House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Howell on Thursday confirmed that she had sent an e-mail to parliamentarians informing them of the incident after consulting with the security services.A spokesman for Hoyle said: "The speaker takes the security and the democratic process of the members very seriously, so he issued this notice in consultation with the security services.
The Chinese embassy in London has denied the allegations, saying "there is no need for us and we have not tried to gain influence in any foreign parliament."
A statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington said, "We strongly oppose any threats of corruption or intimidation against the Chinese community in the UK."
The security notice named the suspected agent as Christine Lee and said she was involved in deliberate political interference by the United Frontwork Department of the Chinese Communist Party.
The London-based lawyer allegedly donated 27 275,000 to Barry Gardner, a former member of the Labor Shadow Cabinet, and millions of pounds to his party.
Former Prime Minister Theresa May, whose conservatives have been accused of embezzling millions from Russian money, presented Lee with an award in 2019 in recognition of his co-operation in Sino-British relations.
There is also a separate photo of Lee with David Cameron and former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn at a 2015 event.
According to British media, the speaker's note stated that Lee facilitated financial donations to serving and aspiring parliamentarians on behalf of foreign nationals residing in Hong Kong and China.
China last year banned 10 British organizations and individuals, including Duncan Smith, for spreading "lies and misinformation" about human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
He complained that Lee had not been arrested or deported, only barred from entering parliament.
"This is the kind of gray zone intervention we now expect from China," Tobias L. Wood, a former conservative defense minister, told the Commons.
Gardner said Christine Lee's son was employed as her diary manager but resigned on Thursday.
He said in a statement that all of his donations had been properly reported and that no suspicious money had been suggested to his office but that he had been in contact with "our security services" for several years.
