Number of Chinese spies in Britain is ‘unquantifiable’, ex-Army intelligence officer warns – with fears it could run to ‘hundreds of thousands’

The number of Chinese spies in Britain is ‘unquantifiable’, an ex-army intelligence officer has warned – amid fears it could reach ‘hundreds of thousands’

Reports say the number of Chinese agents working in intelligence gathering in Britain is reaching new heights.

Colonel Philip Ingram, a former army intelligence officer, told The Telegraph: ‘Quantifying the number of Chinese intelligence sources in Britain is impossible.

‘Article 7 of ChinaThe National Intelligence Law states that all Chinese organizations must ‘support and cooperate’ with Chinese intelligence efforts, meaning that any citizen can be used openly or without knowledge by the Chinese state to gather information.”

Intelligence sources believe that Chinese agents are active in academia, among both students and teachers, and in business and the arts.

Reports say the number of Chinese agents working in intelligence gathering in Britain has reached new heights. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 16

Reports say the number of Chinese agents engaged in intelligence gathering in Britain could reach ‘hundreds of thousands’. Pictured: MI5 headquarters in London

Colonel Philip Ingram (pictured), a former army intelligence officer, told The Telegraph: ‘Quantifying the number of Chinese intelligence sources in Britain is impossible’

But in some cases, the people collecting the information may not even be aware that they are being exploited for intelligence by the Chinese state.

In October, MI5 head Ken McCallum said an estimated 20,000 Britons had been contacted by Chinese state actors on LinkedIn in the hope of stealing industrial or technological secrets.

He said the industrial espionage was taking place on a ‘real scale’, estimating that 10,000 British companies were at risk, mainly in the areas of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and synthetic biology.

A government source told defense publication National Security News: ‘MI5 has limited resources so priorities need to be set. The level of terrorist threat remains ‘substantial’, meaning an attack is likely, but in reality the challenges currently posed by China and Russia are more pressing.”

The source believed that as many as 20 Chinese embassy officials in Britain were likely operating as spies.

Ken McCallum (pictured) revealed that Beijing has more than doubled its underhanded approach to British workers on professional networking sites such as LinkedIn

The source believed that as many as 20 officials from the Chinese embassy (pictured) in Britain were likely operating as spies.

Warnings have been issued that Iranian-backed terror attacks in Britain were more likely in the wake of the war between Israel and Hamas. Pictured: the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham

He added: “But the number of officers and civilians recruited by Chinese intelligence services could be in the hundreds of thousands.

‘There are probably people in Britain who have no idea they are providing intelligence to the Chinese government. These could be Chinese nationals working or studying in Britain, or British nationals.”

Meanwhile, Iran is also believed to be using organized crime gangs to carry out intimidation operations and plot assassinations in Britain.

There have been warnings argued that Iranian-backed terror attacks in Britain were more likely in the aftermath of the war between Israel and Hamas.

In August, then Minister of the Interior Suella Braverman warned that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps posed the greatest threat to Britain’s national security.

She spoke about the group increasing its activities amid reports that Iranian spies are trying to recruit organized crime gang members to attack regime opponents.

In February 2023, then Security Secretary Tom Tugendhat told Parliament that in just over a year the Iranian government was behind 15 credible threats to kill or kidnap British citizens or people living among the British people.

The threat from China and Iran comes while the threat from Russia also remains high.

In August, then Home Secretary Suella Braverman warned that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps posed the biggest threat to Britain’s national security.

Protesters during a march in central London on January 21, 2023 against the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, on March 6, 2023

After the Salisbury Novichok attack in 2018, Great Britain has expelled 23 Russian spies from the country as part of its “full and robust response” to the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

It meant that Russia lost a large portion of its intelligence officers overnight and has since been trying to recruit new resources to fill the gaps.

British support for Ukraine in the war against Russia has also led to increased espionage activities.

The threats come after British security services were included in a General Election task force to protect MPs and parliamentary candidates from violent attacks, and to combat online interference by Russia, China and Iran.

Last week The Mail on Sunday revealed the secretive Whitehall Joint Election and Security Preparedness (JESP) unit – which also includes MI5, MI6 and GCHQ – will monitor the extremist threats that candidates may face as they canvass their constituencies, amid heightened tensions caused by the war between Israel and Gaza.

JESP will also take action to identify and remove fake videos and social media posts from hostile states that are weaponizing AI to spread disinformation to mislead British voters.

A government official said at the time: ‘If there are threats against candidates from ideological sources, such as extremists, MI5 and counter-terrorism police will be involved.

“If hostile states become involved in election interference, this will be noticed by the security services.”

JESP is part of the government’s Defending Democracy Taskforce, set up by Security Secretary Tom Tugendhat and given £31 million to protect MPs and electoral processes.

The newspaper also revealed that the Defense Ministry has created an army 77th Brigade – which specializes in “information operations” – to combat interference and disinformation from abroad.