Threat to national security because of reliance on Chinese technology.
Posted: 24th May 2025
’I was head of MI6 – here’s how China can shut down UK cities’. Immobilised cars, zombie traffic lights and switched off solar panels are just some of the potential threats from China outlined by former British intelligence chief Sir Richard Dearlove. Britain is “sleepwalking” into a scenario where Chinese technology being used in products “absolutely critical to the country’s survival” could allow China to bring the country to a standstill, warns the man who used to run Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service. Speaking to The i Paper, Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, set out his concerns that the UK’s most vital national infrastructure, such as hospitals, energy grids, and transport networks, could come “under the control of the Chinese Communist Party”. His decision to speak out comes after Sir Richard launched an attack on Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s “ideological” net zero policies which he said are a threat to national security because of their reliance on Chinese technology.