CHINESE spies are bugging benches and hotels to eavesdrop on political chat, it is claimed.
The espionage fears have prompted warnings to MPs, their aides and civil servants to avoid hotspots around Parliament.
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St James’s Park, the Red Lion pub and hotels such as The Corinthia and Raffles were among places said to have been targeted — in a warning that Kristin Scott Thomas’s MI5 boss Diana Taverner, in TV’s Slow Horses, would be wise to heed.
One source said: “We’ve been told the Chinese literally have the park bugged, with devices in the bushes and under benches.”
The spot, yards from Downing Street and the Treasury, is popular with Commons res-earchers on their breaks.
Another source said: “The researchers are regarded by the Chinese, and other spies like the Russians and Iranians, as the soft underbelly of Whitehall.”
Parliament is already a daily target for cyber attacks and MPs critical of China experience high numbers of hacking attempts.
It comes amid discussions on whether China should be classed as a national security threat.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said ministers were wrong to leave out China, losing a crucial tool to monitor those working for Beijing.
He said: “We know China is building a spying and repression network right here in the UK.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has also come in for criticism by backing closer economic ties with China.
She defended a potential London float of Chinese fast fashion brand Shein.