China holds strategic advantage over UK power infrastructure, former MI6 chief warns
Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, has warned MPs and peers that China could bring the UK to a "complete standstill" by exploiting Britain's growing dependence on Chinese steel and technology used in the power grid. Speaking in Parliament, he said such dependencies give Beijing "strategic leverage" in peacetime and "weapons of mass disruption" in a crisis, since the raw materials needed to build and maintain grid infrastructure are concentrated in the hands of a country MI5's director general has already identified as the UK's foremost national security threat.
Dearlove argued that Britain's "complacent deindustrialisation" has left it exposed, as China has expanded its share of global steel exports while the UK's industrial base has shrunk — a dynamic highlighted last year when Chinese owner Jingye attempted to close blast furnaces at British Steel's Scunthorpe plant. His remarks came a day after Andy Burnham held his first call with President Xi Jinping since becoming Prime Minister, in which Downing Street said the two committed to a "long-term and consistent comprehensive strategic partnership." Shadow minister Alicia Kearns accused Labour of leaving Britain "less resilient and less safe," while Labour MPs Graeme Downie and Luke Akehurst said the warning about Chinese dependency should be taken seriously.
- Ex-MI6 chief warns China could disrupt UK's power grid at will
- Britain's reliance on Chinese steel and tech creates "strategic leverage" for Beijing
- Warning follows Burnham's first call with President Xi as PM
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Sir Richard Dearlove, who led the UK's foreign intelligence service from 1999 to 2004, told a parliamentary hearing that Britain has become dangerously reliant on Chinese steel and technology to build and maintain its electricity grid. He warned this reliance could let China disrupt the country in a crisis, echoing concerns already raised by MI5 about China as a security threat.
The warning follows years of decline in Britain's steel industry, most visibly at the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe, where the Chinese owner tried to shut down blast furnaces last year before the government intervened to keep them running. It also comes just after Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since taking office, as the two countries discussed deepening cooperation.
The story matters because it touches on a wider debate in Britain over how to balance trade and diplomatic ties with China against concerns about national security and dependence on foreign suppliers for critical infrastructure. Politicians are divided over whether closer engagement with Beijing is a pragmatic necessity or a risk to the country's resilience.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “China could switch the lights off at any second, such is Beijing’s grip on our infrastructure, former MI6 chief warns”.