Call for ban on British armed forces 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 sub-committee 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.”