MI5 warns UK academics to cut ties with Chinese group over alleged spying

Britain’s domestic intelligence agency has told academics to stop working with a Chinese organisation funding research in United Kingdom universities, accusing it of having “very strong ties” with China’s spy agency. In a rare public espionage alert on Wednesday, MI5 alleged the ⁠⁠”primary purpose” of the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI) is to finance academic work that improves the espionage capability of the Ministry of State Security (MSS), the Chinese intelligence agency. There was no immediate response from Beijing, which has previously strongly denied such accusations.