More than 100 academics linked to British institutions have unwittingly assisted China’s espionage operations against the UK via a front company working for its intelligence and security services, MI5 has warned.

In the highly unusual public alert, the UK’s internal security service warned universities and academics that continuing ties with China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI) could ultimately lead to criminal charges for aiding a foreign state.

Security minister Dan Jarvis said MI5’s warning exposed attempts by Chinese intelligence agencies to use British academic research to undermine UK national security.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London said the accusation was “imaginary and purely fabricated”.

Universities UK, which represents more than 140 institutions, meanwhile said it was reviewing the alert and focusing on “supporting our universities as they assess any implications for existing or future partnerships”.

In June, MI5 and its closest partners in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, issued a joint warning that China’s military intelligence services were targeting professional networking sites and online job platforms.

This new UK-specific alert goes further, revealing what the service says is a threat that has been growing within British academic institutions.

MI5 says that the CGTRI, sometimes translated as the China Academy of General Technology (CAGT), has “very strong ties” to the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS).

“MI5 has identified that the primary purpose of CGTRI is to fund academic research that directly improves MSS technical capability for espionage,” it says.

“More than 100 UK-linked academics have contributed to projects funded by MSS via CGTRI,” adding that in some cases the researches would not be aware of the front company’s role in their project.

UK academics have contributed to CGTRI-funded projects on topics including AI, cyber-security, covert communications systems and steganography, which means hiding a secret message or file inside an ordinary message or object.

“This activity supports Ministry of State Security espionage, which poses a threat to UK national security,” MI5 said.

The security alert said that many academic institutions and individuals will have engaged with the CGTRI “in good faith” because the link back to Chinese state security had been “obfuscated”.

It continued: “UK academic institutions are strongly advised to immediately review any ongoing or planned collaboration with CGTRI. This is to ensure MSS derives no further benefit from UK universities or research institutions.”

The public alert raises the prospect that British academics who do not act on it immediately could ultimately fall foul of the law.

It stressed that the National Security Act, a key piece of legislation passed in 2023 to counter state espionage, created a new offence of assisting a foreign intelligence service where the individual ought to reasonably have known what they were doing so.

Jarvis said: “This alert exposes attempts by Chinese intelligence to covertly benefit from the expertise and research of our academics, undermining our national security, and that of our allies.”

He said he had now written to all university vice-chancellors to end relationships with the organisation.

Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan-Smith, co-chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, told the BBC that several reports had suggested “British universities’ dependence on Chinese students has opened them up to all sorts of problems” and that security checks should be stepped up.

Responding to the alert, Universities UK said universities “take their responsibilities around research security and national security extremely seriously”.

“The sector has made significant investments in recent years to strengthen due diligence, risk assessment and research security processes,” said chief executive Vivienne Stern, “while continuing to support the international collaboration that is essential to world-leading research and innovation”.

“Close engagement between Government and the higher education sector is vital to ensuring that universities and the country continue to benefit from international collaboration while effectively managing national security risks.”

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London hit back – saying it had already made “solemn representations” to the UK.

“The accusations made by the UK intelligence agency against the relevant Chinese entity are imaginary and purely fabricated,” they said.

“Exchanges and collaboration between UK universities and China have always been conducted on a voluntary basis and in compliance with laws and regulations. Such exchanges and collaboration are mutually beneficial.

“We urge the UK intelligence authorities to stop spreading falsehoods and stop undermining educational exchanges and research cooperation between China and the UK.”