MI5 has issued an unprecedented espionage alert telling British universities to end collaborations with China on key technologies or risk prosecution, naming 100 British academics who have taken funding linked to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) and saying more than 100 UK-linked researchers have contributed to projects funded via the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI).
MI5 identifies CGTRI as MSS funding vehicle
MI5 said the alert is the first official notice of its kind to be published and accused Beijing’s intelligence services of secretly funding research at UK universities to improve capabilities for spying. The agency warned that projects funded through CGTRI have covered subjects including artificial intelligence, cyber-security, covert communications systems and steganography — the practice of hiding a secret message in a file or physical object to avoid detection.
MI5 stated: ‘MI5 has identified that the primary purpose of CGTRI is to fund academic research that directly improves MSS technical capability for espionage.’ The agency cautioned that in some cases academics may not realise their work is being funded indirectly by CGTRI, and in other cases institutions may have engaged with CGTRI ‘in good faith’ without knowing the link to the MSS.
Legal risks and government response
Universities have been told to ‘immediately review any ongoing or planned collaboration with CGTRI’ and academics are advised to ‘establish the ultimate funding source when conducting any research collaboration with Chinese institutions, to ensure CGTRI is not involved.’ MI5 warned that continuing to share sensitive research with entities ultimately funded by CGTRI could amount to assisting a foreign intelligence service, an offence that can carry a 14-year prison sentence.
The alert notes that academic institutions, staff and researchers could face prosecution under the National Security Act 2023 for ‘assisting a foreign intelligence service or obtaining a material benefit from a hostile state.’ It adds: ‘Any institution or individual continuing to conduct research ultimately funded by CGTRI following publication of this espionage alert should take their own independent legal advice, in particular (but not limited to) in relation to the offences under sections 3 and 17 of the National Security Act.’
The warning follows a February briefing in which spy chief Sir Ken McCallum told a select group of 70 universities that hostile states were using sophisticated methods to target academics and ‘shape research and teaching content.’ MI5 hauled UK vice-chancellors into a briefing, but the alert says researchers have continued to collaborate in return for funding from China.
Security minister Dan Jarvis urged universities to sever ties, saying: ‘This alert exposes attempts by Chinese intelligence to covertly benefit from the expertise and research of our academics, undermining our national security, and that of our allies. I have written to all university Vice-Chancellors to ensure they support their staff to end all arrangements with this company, preventing further benefit to the Chinese intelligence services and ensuring compliance with the National Security Act.’ He added that international partnerships remain vital but that the government will ‘take robust action to defend against the threats we face.’
MI5, headquartered at Thames House on Millbank, SW1, identified Oxford and Cambridge among UK institutions that have research agreements with Beijing and are listed as having partnerships with China’s top defence universities. The agency reiterated that institutions and researchers should review collaborations and confirm ultimate funding sources to avoid inadvertently supporting MSS espionage.
