China’s capabilities pose significant risks to UK infrastructure, warns former MI6 chief
China has built “weapons of mass disruption” capable of bringing Britain to a “complete standstill,” a former MI6 chief has warned, reports BritPanorama.
Sir Richard Dearlove told MPs and peers at a private gathering in Parliament that Beijing has deliberately made the West dependent on its steel and technology. He stated that should an international crisis arise, China could hold the UK to “ransom” by cutting off essential supplies needed to maintain the National Grid and other critical infrastructure.
“Such peacetime dependencies give China strategic leverage and in a crisis it gives them weapons of mass disruption which could literally bring this country to a complete standstill,” he remarked. Sir Richard also highlighted the UK’s diminishing capability to manufacture vital equipment necessary for its energy system, which he described as a “chronic danger.”
He expressed concern about the complacency in deindustrialising efforts, stating, “In complacently deindustrialising we have not merely lost an industry; we have actually lost the ability to rebuild the energy system ourselves.” He elaborated that large-scale transformers take two years to arrive, while generators may take up to three. Furthermore, he indicated that the grain-oriented industrial steel, for which there is no alternative, comes exclusively from China, whose production capacity vastly surpasses that of any other nation.
The warning came during a reception hosted by the Coalition on Secure Technology (CST), a cross-party campaign aimed at alerting policymakers about technology manufactured in hostile states. Sir Richard drew attention to the Chinese-made electric buses acquired for London, which are controlled by software dictated by their manufacturer. He quipped that the thought of commuters facing delays due to immobilised buses might seem amusing, but he emphasized that the implications for the electricity grid are of a far more serious nature.
This comes in the wake of CST’s recent warning that Chinese technology embedded within tractors and other internet-connected agricultural machinery could be utilised to monitor Britain’s food supply chains. Their report indicated that Chinese-made components are prevalent in GPS-guided tractors, agricultural drones, and automated irrigation systems, thus leaving food production “dangerously exposed.” Experts raised alarms that hostile entities could harvest sensitive information regarding crop yields, livestock, and production forecasts, or even remotely disable crucial equipment using a “kill switch.”
Under the leadership of Labour MP Graeme Downie, the CST has urged the government to diminish Britain’s reliance on high-risk foreign technology. Sir Richard concluded by asserting that Beijing is intentionally creating global dependencies aligned with its long-term ambitions, urging all involved to take the threat seriously as “the methodology for doing it is being put in place under our very noses.”
This context underscores the urgency for the UK to reassess its technological dependencies amid an increasing reliance on foreign suppliers, particularly from nations with divergent strategic interests.
