A lawyer accused of working for the Chinese government has lost her legal battle against MI5. The UK's Security Service issued a warning to MPs in 2022 claiming Ms Lee engaged in political interference for a Chinese Communist Party branch.
A lawyer who was accused by MI5 of working for the Chinese government has lost her legal challenge against the intelligence agency. The UK's Security Service warned MPs in January 2022 that it believed Christine Lee had engaged in 'political interference and activities' for a branch of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The warning was issued a day after Boris Johnson, the then prime minister, apologised to MPs over the Partygate scandal.
Ms Lee said she believed the warning issued about her, known as an interference alert, was for a 'political purpose, namely to serve the interests of the Conservative Party' and brought legal action, along with her son Daniel Wilkes, against MI5. But three judges at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal unanimously dismissed both claims today. Lord Justice Singh, sitting with Lord Boyd and Judge Rupert Jones, said MI5 had issued the warning for 'legitimate reasons'. In the 41-page ruling, the judge dismissed their challenges, including on human rights grounds. 'It has not been suggested in the present case that the claimants were subjected to torture. What is suggested is that they were subjected to inhumane or degrading treatment,' he said. 'We are not satisfied that it reached the minimum threshold required for a breach.' The judge added that the interference alert was 'preventative', and that there had not been an 'authoritative finding' that Ms Lee had been engaged in criminal activity or other misconduct. Lord Justice Singh concluded: 'We have reached the conclusion that the interference alert was issued in accordance with domestic law. The national security risk posed by Ms Lee was rationally assessed and the issue of the interference alert falls within the national security functions of the Security Service.' The MI5 alert was issued after Ms Lee donated £500,000 to former Brent North MP Barry Gardiner, who was chairman of the now-disbanded Chinese In Britain All-Party Parliamentary Grou
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