Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of the level of risk of the China General Technology Research Institute supporting Chinese Ministry of State Security espionage by using British academics to spy on British AI research.

MI5’s recently published alert has exposed the very strong ties between the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI) and China’s Ministry of State Security. CGTRI’s primary purpose is to fund academic research which directly improves the Ministry’s technical capability for espionage

Institutions and academics should take reasonable steps to review their exposure to CGTRI and avoid or cease active or upcoming partnerships, while ensuring they comply with their obligations under the National Security Act 2023.