Former Labour minister says he only found out Christine Lee was a communist ...

Labour MP Barry Gardiner tonight attempted to defend accepting more than half a million pounds from a solicitor now exposed as a Chinese spy.

MPs were warned in a bombshell email today to avoid contact with Christine Lee, 58, who has been monitored by the security services for some time.

She has not been arrested and is not being expelled as it stands, but a warning memo was sent to all MPs and peers in Westminster today by the Speaker's Parliamentary security team. 

Mr Gardiner, the former frontbencher turned Jeremy Corbyn supporter had received large amounts of cash from her over the past decade, and employed her son Daniel in his parliamentary office until today.

Mr Gardiner has been supportive of China's attempts to get more involved in Britain's nuclear industry, including the Hinkley Point power plant. 

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Gardiner said he only found out she was a spy this morning when he had a meeting with MI5 agents.

But he said he had spoken to them for years about her money and their relationship had been cleared to continue. 

He told the broadcaster that 'she got no political advantage from me', adding: 'I had been cautious because I knew she was a solicitor  who acted for a number of Chinese businesses in the UK over a very long period of time.

'For that reason I had spoken openly and frankly with our security services for a number of years about the engagement I had with her. 

'And I made sure that at no time did they suggest in any way that I should cut off engagement with her.'

An alert sent to politicians today said the a twice-married mother of two who lives in the affluent Birmingham suburb of Coleshill, was 'knowingly engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party'. No politicians are suspected of any criminality.

Ms Lee, is a former chief legal adviser to the Chinese embassy in London and a legal adviser to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. She is also the secretary of the Inter-Party China Group at Westminster. 

She has donated more than £500,000 Mr Gardiner, including around £200,000 used to pay staff ages. 

Mr Gardiner confirmed Daniel Wilkes had resigned today, meaning he loses privileged access to the Parliamentary estate with a staff pass. There is no suggestion he was involved in his mother's activities. 

She is also reported to have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds more to other parts of the Labour Party. Questions were first asked about her funding five years ago but no action was taken. 

As well as embarrassment for Labour Ms Lee's firm also donated £5,000 to the Liberal Democrats in 2005 and another £5,000 to now party leader Ed Davey in 2013, when he was energy minister in the coalition government.

She also has links to the Conservatives.  She appears to have also developed a good relationship with David Cameron while he was prime minister. And in January 2019, she received a Points of Light Award from then premier Theresa May, in recognition of her contribution to good relations with China via the British Chinese Project.  

Conservative former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told MPs this afternoon that he understood MI5 had contacted Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle about the matter.   

He said: 'They key issue here is I understand that Mr Speaker has been contacted by MI5 and is now warning members of Parliament that there has been an agent of the Chinese government active here in Parliament working with a Member of Parliament, obviously to subvert the processes here.

'I say, as a Member of Parliament who has been sanctioned by the Chinese government, that this is a matter of grave concern.' 

Home Secretary Priti Patel said it was 'deeply concerning' that an individual 'who has knowingly engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party has targeted parliamentarians' but the UK has measures in place 'to identify foreign interference'.   

Mr Gardiner chose to keep on Mr Wilkes two years ago when the Daily Mail published a ground-breaking book about so-called ‘Tiger Women’ such as Ms Lee, who were accused of promoting Beijing’s interests in Britain.

One of those interests was undoubtedly energy, and Mr Gardiner is a former shadow energy secretary. And the now Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey MP, was energy secretary during the coalition government when he also received a donation of £5,000 to his office, and the same amount to his party in 2013. 

In 2017 The Times reported that Mr Gardiner, a minister in Tony Blair's government, had 'generally taken a pro-Beijing stance'. It said that in his former role as shadow energy secretary, he supported Chinese involvement in the UK nuclear power industry.

Asked in the past about his financial support from Miss Lee's firm, Mr Gardiner reportedly said he had never been 'improperly requested by, or influenced by' the law firm 'in relation to his conduct as an MP or Labour spokesman'. There is no suggestion of impropriety.

Christine Lee and Co’s Twitter account, which carries the line ‘serving the Chinese community for 20 years’, is used to trumpet accolades showered on its boss from Beijing.

In 2017, they tweeted: ‘Congratulations! �� Madam Christine Lee has been appointed to Beijing City Overseas Chinese Legal Advisor.’

In 2006 Lee founded the British Chinese Project (BCP), whose stated aim is to 'empower the UK Chinese community, making them aware of their democratic rights and responsibilities, whilst ensuring the needs and interests of the community are heard at a political level'.

It sounded a very worthy multicultural enterprise But its Chinese name has different echoes. It translates as 'British Chinese Participation in Politics', linking it to the huaren canzheng infiltration policy of the CCP to maximise political influence in democracies by promoting trusted people of Chinese heritage.

Lee’s was married in Birmingham in 1985 to a man called John Shing, then wed to British solicitor Martin Wilkes in Solihull, West Midlands in 1990.

Their elder son Michael, 30, – now also a solicitor - was born in 1991 and his brother Daniel, 27, in 1994 and the family lived in the leafy Birmingham suburb of Coleshill. Both sons were born in Birmingham.

Martin Wilkes is listed, along with Ms Lee, as a director of Christine Lee & Co (Solicitors) Ltd. Other solicitor directors named in Companies House documents are David Tat Wai Ho and Jennifer Ho. 

Her Birmingham-based law firm donated more than £200,000 to the MP and his constituency party. In 2007, while a Blair government minister, Gardiner became the chair of her British Chinese Project.

A photo of Ms Lee in front of 10 Downing Street shows the iconic door draped with red banners displaying New Year couplets in Chinese characters and announcing the 'Golden Era' of Sino-British relations. 

A Daily Mail investigation in 2020 revealed Mr Gardiner benefited from more than £500,000 support from Ms Lee's firm.

According to the Commons Register of Interests, since 2015 Mr Gardiner has received £542,000 in staff costs from Christine Lee & Co. 

Today's email from the Speaker to MPs said: 'I am writing now to draw your attention to the attached Interference Alert issued by the Security Service, MI5, about the activities of an individual, Christine Lee, who has been engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, engaging with Members here at Parliament and associated political entities, including the former APPG: Chinese in Britain.

'I should highlight the fact that Lee has facilitated financial donations to serving and aspiring Parliamentarians on behalf of foreign nationals based in Hong Kong and China. This facilitation was done covertly to mask the origins of the payments. This is clearly unacceptable behaviour and steps are being taken to ensure it ceases.' 

Conservative former defence minister Tobias Ellwood also told the chamber: 'This is the sort grey-zone interference we now anticipate and expect from China.

'But the fact that it's happened to this Parliament, there must be a sense of urgency from this Government.'

He also asked for a Government statement to be made on Thursday to enable MPs to understand the impact of the actions and the intended response.  

In 2019 Ms Lee was awarded a Ray Of Light Award by Ms May for her work with the British Chinese Project.

In a personal message, Ms May said: 'You should feel very proud of the difference that

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