Security minister Dan Jarvis has said the government will not tolerate “covert and calculated” attempts to interfere with the UK’s sovereign affairs, after MI5 warned MPs of the risk from Chinese spies.

An alert issued to MPs, peers and parliamentary staff by security services identified two LinkedIn profiles, which it says are used on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS).

It says they act as “civilian recruitment headhunters”, targeting individuals working in British politics to solicit “insider insights”.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the UK said accusations of espionage were “pure fabrication” and accused the UK of a “self-staged charade”.

“We strongly condemn such despicable moves of the UK side and have lodged stern representations with them,” the spokesperson said.

They urged the UK to “stop going further down the wrong path of undermining China-UK relations”.

Jarvis announced a package of measures in the House of Commons to tackle espionage threats to the UK.

These included £170m to upgrade encrypted technology for government business, as well as new protections against Chinese cybercrime and attempts to influence UK university research.

Jarvis told MPs: “Our intelligence agencies have warned that China is attempting to recruit and cultivate individuals with access to sensitive information about Parliament and the UK government.”

He added: “This activity involves a covert and calculated attempt by a foreign power to interfere with our sovereign affairs in favour of its own interests, and this government will not tolerate it.”

He warned China had a “low threshold” for what information is useful, as it attempts to build a wider picture.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and his counterpart in the House of Lords, Lord McFall, circulated the MI5 warning to MPs and peers on Tuesday.

Read More: UK will not tolerate Chinese spying, minister says after MI5 alert