Beijing Could Use Police Cameras To Spy On Britain, Warns Watchdog

‘Major security concerns’ over equipment supplied by Chinese companies

- Kiran Stacey

British police are leaving themselves open to spying by Beijing because of their reliance on Chinese-made cameras, according to a report from the government's independent watchdog on surveillance. Most forces across England and Wales use camera equipment that is either made in China or that has important Chinese components, the biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner has warned.

Fraser Sampson warned that such equipment posed security and ethical concerns, at a time when tensions with Beijing were already high.

The report comes a day after Rishi Sunak said RAF jets were on standby to shoot down Chinese surveillance balloons if any were spotted in UK airspace. And it comes three months after the government banned Chinese CCTV systems on government property.

Sampson said: "There are major security concerns with a lot of these cameras, both in terms of the technology they contain and what happens to the data that comes from them. If you buy a system like this, you have to be able to trust the company you are buying from."

He said using Chinese-made cameras also presented ethical concerns, since some had been implicated in helping the Chinese government monitor detainment camps for Uyghurs in Xinjiang province.