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The former head of MI6 has warned MPs that China could “immobilise London” by switching off Britain’s traffic lights, due to Chinese companies controlling so much critical technology in the UK.
Sir Richard Dearlove, the former chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, claimed that Chinese-made microchips embedded in UK infrastructure could be exploited to cause blackouts and bring the capital to a standstill.
Dearlove and Charles Parton, a veteran diplomat, said Chinese companies dominate the microchip industry for devices embedded in technology known as the “internet of things” (IoT). These chips — known as Chinese-made cellular IoT modules (CIMs) — are installed in appliances and vehicles that transmit and receive information over computer networks.
The microchips can be embedded in household items such as fridges, speakers, and air fryers, or in physical infrastructure such as traffic light systems and electric vehicles, enabling them to connect to other devices via the internet.
Speaking at a parliamentary event hosted by the Coalition on Secure Technology, Dearlove and Parton warned MPs that these “gateways to computers” are now ubiquitous — and potentially accessible at any time by their Chinese manufacturers.
Dearlove emphasised that all Chinese-owned companies are legally obliged to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including in matters of national security.
Both he and Parton warned that this relationship could be exploited for surveillance or to trigger large-scale disruption.
Parton, a former diplomat who spent 22 years in China and is now a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said CIMs are present in systems including routers and financial terminals. Security sources told The Times that one possible scenario is gridlock caused by using CIMs to “turn off the traffic light system”.
Dearlove also warned that CIMs embedded in energy infrastructure could be used to shut down the national grid and cause blackouts. He added that Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles are essentially “computers on wheels” that could be remotely reprogrammed at any time — with the potential to “immobilise London”.
He also highlighted that the CCP aims to make China the world’s leading superpower by the middle of the century, primarily through non-military means — with science and technology as the “battlefield”.
Intelligence officials have repeatedly warned of the rising threat from Beijing. A recent report stated that China had infiltrated virtually every sector of the British economy.
Last year, MPs were told that Beijing could bring Britain’s roads to a standstill by remotely disabling Chinese-made electric vehicles — posing a “major security threat”.
Electric vehicles, they heard, can be controlled, adjusted, and ultimately stopped remotely — a vulnerability that could be exploited by China if relations with the UK were to deteriorate.
Beijing, which has ambitious plans to expand the sale of Chinese-made cars in Europe, could also use the vehicles to harvest sensitive data from drivers.
