Britain should “strongly” consider banning Chinese electric vehicles (EVS) as Beijing could use them to “cripple” UK cities, an ex-MI6 chief has told Express.co.uk.
A leading academic has also warned that the Chinese technology is even embedded in the UK’s traffic lights, meaning they could turn the whole network red.
Sir Richard Dearlove, who led MI6 from 1999 to 2004, says this could wreak havoc on hundreds of cars at once.
He told the Daily Express: “China could cripple the traffic in London by cutting the controls of let’s say 400 electric cars in one go, so they couldn’t be moved. This is not a scare story, it’s an actual possibility.
“One day it will happen, or something like that will happen, if we get into a tense international crisis with China – and it’s a real problem.”
Asked whether the UK should ban the import of Chinese EVs, Sir Richard said: “There is an argument for doing that strongly, yes – in terms of national security.”
Jim Saker, a green car expert from Loughborough University, says Chinese EVs are embedded with cellular modules that can be remotely controlled allowing anyone with access to direct them.
He said: “Within all of these vehicles there are these cellular networks… and they can provide access and information to whoever wishes to control it.
“It’s only this new generation of cars that this is really affecting. When you’ve got cameras on the front, rear and internally, you’ve got the ability to communicate [with the car].”
Comparing the threat to the Hezbollah pagers interfered with by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad before they were blown up in Lebanon, Mr Saker claimed that Chinese EVs could pose a far greater danger to Britain.
He added: “We’ve seen with Mossad what you can do if you disrupt the supply chain with those pagers – imagine what can be done with a car. It cranks up the threat immeasurably”
Mr Saker, who is Director of the Centre for Automotive Management, also remarked how “there are Chinese bits of kit” built into UK traffic lights and that Beijing could use them to shut down the UK’s road network.
“You could turn them all to red, basically you could hack into them”, he warned.
Labour MP Graeme Downie, who is the chair of the Coalition on Secure Technology, shared Mr Saker’s concerns.
The MP for Dunfermline and Dollar said: “We’re seeing in Ukraine and elsewhere that wars and conflicts are being fought differently to how they have been in the past and one of those ways is around technology.
“We’ve seen an increase in cyber attacks across that conflict and across the world. So when you consider that and the future of the security of our own technology, [technological security] becomes absolutely vital.
“For me it’s about making sure, first and foremost, we’ve considered that about a national security risk about our own technology both in civilian and military use. [Asking] where has that technology come from, how secure is it?”.
Despite his concerns about Chinese technology, the Scottish Labour MP refused to call on the Government to impose a ban on Chinese EVs.
The UK remains an outlier among Western states not imposing controls on Chinese EVs. The outgoing Biden administration on Tuesday effectively banned Chinese cars and trucks from the US market with new regulations.
That is on top of the tariffs imposed on Chinese EV imports introduced in September. President-elect Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on January 20, has confirmed that he too wants to prevent Chinese EVs from entering the US market.
A Government spokesperson said: “Electric cars and traffic lights in the UK are built to high safety standards and have led the development of international requirements for all car manufacturers to tackle any possible cyber threats in their designs.
“Local authorities have robust cyber security measures in place to prevent hacking of traffic signals, which have built-in safeguards, ensuring they are disconnected from the wider network if any issues arise.”