MI5 warns UK universities over China-linked research funding and espionage risks

MI5 has warned British universities to end research links with a Chinese organisation it says is tied to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), saying academics could face prosecution if their work assists foreign intelligence. The alert says the organisation funded studies to improve the MSS’s technical capabilities for espionage, including in sensitive fields such as artificial intelligence.

MI5 identified about 100 academics receiving funding linked to the organisation, in research areas including cyber-security, covert communications and steganography. Cambridge said a reference to the organisation funding a 2025 study was an error and removed it; UCL said a researcher disputed that a 2023 paper was funded by it. The National Security Act carries a possible 14-year prison sentence for assisting a foreign intelligence service.