104. The Chinese Spy Scandal: Breaching Westminster (Ep 1)

The Rest Is Classified

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 1 December 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Earlier this month, MI5 issued a stark warning to Westminster: a “covert and calculated” Chinese espionage campaign was targeting parliament - and doing so at an industrial scale. Not with trench-coats and dead drops, but with something far more mundane: LinkedIn messages. This week, Gordon and David look at two high-profile cases of alleged Chinese-backed spying in Britain. Those in the frame always denied the allegations - and two of them, Chris Cash and Christopher Berry, were found not guilty when the case against them collapsed. So, what's going on behind the scenes, and if someone called Shirley contacts you via LinkedIn, should you respond? ------------------- Make someone a Declassified Club Member this Christmas – go deeper into the world of espionage with exclusive Q&As, interviews with top intelligence insiders, regular livestreams, ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, and weekly deep dives into original spy stories. Members also get curated reading lists, special book discounts, prize draws, and access to our private chat community. Just go to https://therestisclassified.supportingcast.fm/gifts And of course, you can still join for yourself any time at therestisclassified.com or on Apple Podcasts. ------------------- THE REST IS CLASSIFIED LIVE 2026: Buy your tickets to see David and Gordon live on stage at London’s Southbank Centre on 31 January: https://www.livenation.co.uk/the-rest-is-classified-live-tickets-adp1627115 ------------------- Email: [email protected] Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@triclassified⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social Producer: Emma Jackson Producer: Becki Hills Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	For exclusive interviews, bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to series,
0:09.0	first look at live show tickets, a weekly newsletter and discounted books,
0:13.1	join the Declassified Club at the Rest is Classified.com.
0:17.4	Hey, Harry. Hello, mate.
0:19.0	Got any tips for the football?
0:20.2	Your best bet is to head over to bet Victor They'll give a new customer A terrific welcome offer If you bet a minimum of £10 They'll give you £30 in free bets Oh that's a steal of a deal It's a good darn deal That'll make your squirrel for real Neil My name's not Neil I know but it rhymes Listen to Harry and make your best bet on the football at BetVictor.
0:40.8	18 plus opt in and bet on any football marketing at odds of evens or greater no, cash out seven-day expiry terms and conditions apply.gamblerware.org.
0:58.5	Hi, my name is Shirley a global headhunter.
1:04.7	A global well-known fund associations is looking for a remote consultant to cooperate.
1:09.3	Luckily to see your LinkedIn, we found you were so excellent candidate.
1:12.2	Look forward to cooperate with you. If you have interest, please contact me. Well, welcome to The Rest is Classified. I'm David McCloskey.
1:18.7	And I'm Gordon Carrera. And that was the delightful prose of Shirley Shen. Shirley is a global
1:26.3	headhunter. And Shirley is in that wonderful bit of
1:30.4	prose, sending a message over the professional networking site linked in to a researcher
1:37.6	in your parliament, Gordon, in the UK parliament. It sounds like an interesting opportunity
1:43.7	to make some money on the side, doesn't it? Yeah, It sounds like an interesting opportunity to make some money on the side,
1:45.6	doesn't it? Yeah. It sounds like a great opportunity. Who could resist such a beautifully crafted
1:51.4	email with such lovely inviting language? I've had a few messages over LinkedIn, including
1:57.4	some strange offers, but not quite so enticing as that.
2:01.8	So, I mean, you'd have taken it, wouldn't you, David? What could possibly go wrong, you know, if you reply. Just reply to a message on LinkedIn. And I think it sounds like a nice side hustle for us on the rest is classified. Yeah, exactly. I'm not sure how gold hang up, would you feel about that. But yes, this week we're not talking about side hustles and how to earn some extra money with some consulting. We're in fact
2:22.5	talking about how Chinese spies try to recruit people in sensitive positions using professional
2:28.9	networking sites as well as other techniques. So MI5 here, the security service in the UK,
	...

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