MPs demanded answers in the House of Commons on Tuesday after reports that a British businessman accused of spying for China tried to hire a former Scotland Yard detective to gather sensitive information on seven parliamentarians who have criticised Beijing.

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith secured an urgent question on the reports, and shadow Home Office minister Alicia Kearns pressed Home Office minister Dan Jarvis on what the government knew, when it knew it, and why the parliamentarians concerned had apparently learned of the targeting through the press.

Mr Jarvis replied that national security should unite Parliament rather than divide it, and criticised the way the issue had been raised. The exchange followed a Mail on Sunday report that John Miller, a businessman accused by the United States of spying for China, had approached a private investigations firm to prepare dossiers on the seven.

Who is John Miller?

Miller, 64, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, is a recruitment specialist and father of three. He and his alleged handler, Cui Guanghai, 44, were arrested in Belgrade in April 2025 during an FBI sting operation, accused of attempting to buy American-made missile launchers, radar systems and drones for the People's Liberation Army.

The pair were awaiting extradition to the United States when they escaped house arrest and boarded a Chinese-owned Gulfstream jet bound for Beijing on 4 August 2025. They have not been seen since. If convicted of the US charges, which include smuggling, stalking and violations of arms-export controls, they faced up to 40 years in prison.

Miller and Mr Cui have not been tried on those charges, and the allegations against them remain unproven in court.

The seven parliamentarians

According to messages seen by the Mail on Sunday, Miller asked former Scotland Yard detective Keith Hunter to prepare dossiers on seven prominent parliamentarians who had been sanctioned by Beijing after campaigning against the persecution of Uyghur Muslims.

The seven were Tom Tugendhat, then chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Nusrat Ghani, Neil O'Brien, Tim Loughton, Lord Alton and Baroness Kennedy.

Mr Hunter asked Miller to clarify the brief, writing: "We understand that we need to look at integrity and credibility issues against all of them but is this including anything in their home lives, business, historic?"

Later that evening, Miller told him they needed "something" on Mr Tugendhat and Sir Iain "to impress" the client, adding: "It doesn't have to be dirt."

Two days later, however, Miller told Mr Hunter that another team had already supplied Fise Technology with "financials and phone records" relating to the same politicians, and that the client had "closed the case" with Animus.

What the investigators say

The correspondence shows the work was commissioned for Fise Technology, a Hong Kong front company owned by Mr Cui, who is described as a senior intelligence officer with China's Ministry of State Security.

Animus Associates, Mr Hunter's firm, said it produced only short biographies of the politicians using information in the public domain, and that no investigative work was produced for Mr Miller or any entity associated with him.

"When it became apparent that Mr Miller sought to engage Animus in practices that fell outside lawful open-source methods, Animus refused, refunded all monies received and terminated the relationship," the firm said. There is no suggestion that Animus acted unlawfully or knew of any connection between Miller, the company and the Chinese state.

Sir Iain said he had not been told about the approach. "I am astonished. Nobody has informed me that this was happening, that I was being targeted by this nodding donkey of the Chinese, who has now fled the country," he said.

What happened in the Commons

The urgent question, listed for 3.30pm on Tuesday 10 November, gave MPs their first chance to question ministers in the chamber about the disclosures. Ms Kearns also raised the government's wider China policy, including the connection with Lord Mandelson, and asked what action ministers would take to protect parliamentarians.

Mr Jarvis did not accept that the government had failed to act, and argued that the security of Parliament should be a matter of cross-party agreement rather than political argument.

The reports add to a series of warnings about Chinese state activity aimed at Westminster. MI5 has previously alerted MPs and parliamentary staff to attempts to recruit people with access to sensitive information about Parliament, including through approaches on professional networking sites.