The former leader of the British Conservative Party, Sir Iain Duncan Smith claimed that he is being directly threatened by Communist China as a result of his work to expose the malign influence of the brutal regime in Beijing.

The former Tory leader told Parliament that he has been made aware of intelligence from the Five Eyes (the intelligence-sharing network comprised of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the U.S.) which warned that members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) are being targetted by the communist nation for cyberattacks.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: “I understand now there is intelligence from the Five Eyes sources that there is now a very active and direct threat from the Chinese government aimed directly at the co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.

“Some of these co-chairs, of which I am one, have now been warned by their intelligence services in receipt of this that they should be very careful and that they will be supported.”

Sir Iain, who was among ten British individuals and organisations to be sanctioned earlier this year by Beijing for supporting sanctions against Chinese officials involved in the persecution of the Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang, made the comments amid discussion surrounding allegations from the UK, the United States and others that China was behind a cyberattack on Microsoft.

The Chinese embassy in London denied involvement in the hack, saying: “The accusation against China by the UK side is sheer fabrication and slander. The Chinese side is gravely concerned and strongly opposed to this. We call on the UK side to immediately stop echoing the groundless and irresponsible accusation against China.”

While activists and students in the UK have reported being threatened and intimidated by Chinese actors, the alleged threats made against Sir Iain and other members of the IPAC represent a marked escalation in the confrontation with the authoritarian state.

Speaking to Breitbart London, the founder and chairman of Hong Kong Watch, Benedict Rogers said: “These threats reveal just what a present and growing danger the Chinese Communist Party regime is to the world, and to freedom everywhere.”

Mr Rogers, who also serves as an advisor to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, told Breitbart London of his own experiences with threats from the communist regime.

“In a very small way, I have had my own experiences of attempts at intimidation and harassment, including receiving threatening letters by mail to my home, similar letters sent to my neighbours in my street in London asking them to ‘watch’ me, and letters to my mother in a different part of the country urging her to tell me to stop my human rights advocacy work,” Rogers said.

“I also know of at least four occasions when four separate Members of Parliament were directly lobbied by the Chinese Embassy in London to ask them to shut me up,” the Hong Kong Watch founder added.

“In my case, they tried the old-fashioned way, through the mail and attempts to influence MPs.

“Now they are behaving in a more sophisticated but even more dangerous and sinister way, threatening cyber-security. This cannot be ignored, nor can it be met merely with condemnation.

“The free world must unite and take robust action to stop this reckless behaviour and hold the perpetrators to account.”

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka