Christine Lee, a Chinese solicitor accused of spying on Westminster on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, is now suing MI5 for “attacking” her reputation and undermining her human rights by publicly naming her as a saboteur. She is seeking unspecified damages in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, after British intelligence chiefs claimed in 2022 she was performing “political interference activities” for the Chinese government. Her son worked for Labour MP Barry Gardiner, who also pocketed around £500,000 courtesy of Lee’s generosity… 

Lee’s lawyer claimed today the accusations were false, and his client is not a communist spy at all:

“There has been a serious and public attack on (Lee’s) reputation without any prior finding of guilt […] Her claim is that she is a victim of the state’s actions and she seeks to protect her fundamental rights.”

MI5 continue to defend the claims, with their lawyer saying the emergency alert issued in 2022 was necessary “to protect parliamentary democracy from the threat posed by foreign political interference“. There are enough leaks in Parliament nowadays as it is…