Call for ban on supplies from China and Russia
The government is facing calls from MPS to ban Russia and China from any involvement in supplying equipment to Britain’s armed forces.
The Commons Defence subcommittee said the widespread use of overseas firms in the UK defence supply chain left it open to “potentially hostile foreign involvement”.
It said that investments from countries such as Russia, which regularly engage in espionage against the UK, should be classed as hostile.
And it said China in particular had a record of large-scale intellectual property theft, raising concerns that any UK firm working alongside Chinese suppliers could have its technology stolen.
The committee urged ministers to draw up a list of friendly countries they were happy to see continuing to invest in the defence supply chain, while the rest should be barred.
It said: “Countries that consistently involve themselves in intellectual property theft, and regularly behave contrary to the UK’S values, such as China under the Chinese Communist Party, should be categorised as hostile.
“Investments from countries, such as Russia, that regularly engage in espionage against the UK, or its allies, should also be classified as hostile.”
Sub-committee chairman Richard Drax said: “Investment in the defence supply chain from all countries that fall outside of an approved list, including Russia and China, must be barred.”
An online tracker for Scotland’s fleet of gritters has attracted hundreds of thousands of followers.
The gritters – which found fame with quirky names like Gritty Gritty Bang Bang, Skid Vicious and Salt Disney – have even developed a following in California. The tracker site had 110,000 hits in one 24-hour period, and was mentioned on the radio in Russia.
The gritters have been working round the clock during the cold snap, and the tracker lets people check their local roads.