SIR Robert Buckland has said he is "deeply concerrned" by news a Chinese "agent" has been actively working within UK Parliament. 

MI5 warned Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle that a woman has been "engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the Chinese Community Party, engaging with members here at parliament".

The security agency also said she has been involved with the now-disbanded all-party parliamentary group, Chinese in Britain.

Mr Hoyle has written to all MPs to inform them about what he was learned.

Former justice secretary and South Swindon MP Sir Robert said: "All MPs have been written to by the speaker today about this deeply concerning information. 

"MPs and their office teams should always take care to check the identity and background of previously unknown individuals or organisations that seek to make contact."

"I would add that the chalenge being posed by China is real and growing."

North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson was also approached for comment but told the Adver he didn't know enough about it to do so, and deferred to his Tory colleague.

Conservative former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith raised it as a point of order in the Commons.

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.”

Sir Iain added: “Will this now lead to a serious overhaul of the accreditation procedures here in the House of Commons because it’s clearly too slack that these people get in – either in APPGs (all-party parliamentary groups) or with individuals.

“Is it possible we’ll have a statement from the Speaker from the chair about the risks?”

Sir Iain said he has done much to help Hong Kong-Chinese people flee the communist regime, noting: “We have names and numbers of people, and that leaves me worrying that some of these have been accessed by such an individual.

“These will be their lives and families at risk and I am deeply concerned about this because my activities therefore may well have therefore been traced, as those as well from my colleagues and friends.

“I understand that the latest news I hear is that this individual is not to be deported and no further action to be taken.

“How can it be that an agent of a foreign despotic and despicable power that is hellbent on reducing many of those people into penury it seems, how can they put somebody into Parliament – this mother of Parliaments – and then that individual have nothing done to them other than they’re not allowed in Parliament.

“This is surely not good enough.”