Labour MP’s wife worked for Chinese backed group with ‘spy’ links

A TOP Labour MP’s wife worked for an organisation funded by the Chinese communist party linked to spying, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.

Yu Yannan, 40 the spouse of Sir Mark Hendrick was handed “unfettered access” to Parliament despite being the Deputy Director of an arms length group of the communist regime – which could be banned.

Richard Townshend Photography

Sir Mark Hendrick’s wife worked for a Confucius Institue in London[/caption]

Our bombshell revelations come as PM Liz Truss set to declare China a “threat” to Britain for the first time.

A review of diplomatic relations with Beijing will upgrade the country from a “systemic competitor” with the PM believing China is “the most serious long-term threat to our values and way of life”.

The Sun on Sunday can reveal Ms Yu has been married to Sir Mark, 63 for over a decade and spent over nine years working at the London South Bank University Confucius Institute – funded by the Beijing government.

The educational group officially provides funding to British universities and schools that provide Chinese language and cultural lessons.

But MPs, intelligence chiefs and experts say they are being used to rewrite Chinese history, suppress Beijing critics and even host spies.

Sir Mark is one of Parliament’s most vocal pro-China voices, promoting banned Chinese tech firm Huawei and even posed up with the head of the regime’s Propaganda unit while at his wife’s work in 2012.

Li Changchun praised the “good words” and “even better deeds” of Sir Mark at an event at the Confucius Institute.

He has never declared her role to Parliamentary authorities but did admit accepting over £6000 from the London South Bank University Confucius Institute where she was based.

A bombshell report this week by the Henry Jackson Society reveals the LSBU branch has links to Beijing’s United Front Work Department (UFWD) – an intelligence gathering arm of the Communist regime.

Ms Yu is also eligible for a ‘spouse pass’ allowing her access to the Houses of Parliament and even volunteered as a coordinator for a group of MPs in 2011.

Intelligence chiefs have been sounding the alarm over the influential organisations that are based in 27 universities in Britain.

In 2019 FBI Director Christoper Wray warned Confucius Institutes in the USA are “source of concern” adding they “offer a platform to disseminate Chinese Communist party propaganda, to encourage censorship and to restrict academic freedom.”

And in 2019 a Belgian Confucius Institute was shut after security services claimed a professor was a Chinese spy.

“Righ now Britain is an influencer peddler’s paradise.”

Tory MP Bob Seely

Tory MP Bob Seely said it showed Britain needed a register of people working in Britain for dodgy regimes.

He said: “This is yet another case showing we urgently need a Foreign Agents Registration act.

“The idea that institutions like Confucius Institutes that are ‘arms length’ from the CCP is quite frankly for the birds.

“We need to have the register so that there are more checks in place because right now Britain is an influencer peddler’s paradise.”

Campaigner Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said: “Sir Mark has been only too keen to speak up for China.

“He now needs to speak up and answer the very serious questions that his personal and financial ties to the Chinese Communist Party raise.”

Earlier this year Westminster was rocked by a major spying scandal after MI5 accused a Labour donor of being a suspected Chinese agent targeting MPs.

Chinese national Christine Lee was accused of trying to influence Labour MP and Jeremy Corbyn ally Barry Gardiner, as well as a host of others.

The Security Services issued an alert and picture of Lee in January and accused her of “facilitating financial donations to serving and aspiring politicians” as an UFWD.

Labour and Sir Mark declined to comment.

A spokesperson for London South Bank University (LSBU) said their link with China would continue.

They said: “Yannan Yu is a former employee, but we are unable to provide comment on details of an expenses claim from almost 10 years ago.

“The Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine aims to benefit our students and the local community.

“This work includes over 40 London schools benefiting from Chinese language training.

“While it is beneficial for our students and our community, we will continue to support the work of the Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine in London.”