Britain’s armed forces are being kitted and clothed by China in what critics last night called a “needless risk to our national security”.
Official data has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is embarked on a £37m contract for a vast amount of Army, Royal Navy and RAF uniforms which are being manufactured in Chinese factories.
The communist autocracy was earlier this year described as a “deadly threat” to Britain by former Nato secretary general Lord Robertson, who is overseeing a defence review of Britain’s armed forces.
And its support of Russia enables, in the words of one former British diplomat, Moscow to “destroy unity between the United States and Europe on the one hand, and the security of Europe on the other”.
Yet more than 60,000 individual units of combat kit are bing manufactured in China, ranging from flight overalls for RAF Top Guns to fire-retardant overalls worn by sailors on our navy vessels – including HMS Prince of Wales, the carrier that will be flying the flag for Western interests when it ventures into the South China Sea next year.
Staggeringly the package also includes combat gear worn by Special Forces and frontline infantry units which have been especially treated to reduce a soldiers’ radar signature on the battlefield.
Other items include shirts, trousers, jackets, and outerwear designed for challenging conditions, as well as hats, gloves, and belts which are all essential for combat troops
Official documents show that current contracts to deliver uniforms are worth £37,213,284.00. Most were struck in 2022 and last year, though at least one was agreed in July, and they are dated to end in 2026 or 2027.
The contracts were brokered by the MoD’s Defence Equipment & Support Agency (DE&S) through specialist firms in Northern Ireland and Spain.
While they are responsible for the specifications, the manufacturing is left to cheap labour in China.
Last night Whitehall sources said there was no intention of cancelling the contracts because they represent “value for money” for a cash-strapped MoD.
But the revelations invoked fury from experts, former ministers and senior army personnel.
“The greatest threat that faces the UK and the Western powers is China. They’re at the heart of an axis of authoritarian states, which includes North Korea, Russia, Iran. It’s an absurd position that a country that poses a threat to us should be where we get our uniforms from,” said Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), which monitors and scrutinises Beijing.
“What happens when it invades Taiwan? What happens when we’re in a time of conflict and we’re beholden to China because all our uniforms are sourced there?”
While some of the contracts were set under the last government, Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to alter them is in breach of campaign promises to “reverse the decline in manufacturing and create thousands of good jobs in our industrial heartlands and coastal communities.”
Sir Iain added: “The Foreign Office and the institutions like the Treasury which govern our lives don’t give a damn about what’s British. In fact, they’re embarrassed about the idea we’d make a decision on British products.
“Yes, it might cost a bit more in the short term, but manufacturing this uniform here would also create jobs and brings money back into the economy so that at least our money then recycles back into the UK economy.”
Shadow Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois said: “Now that China is a strategic rival and is threatening Taiwan, the idea that we are ultimately sourcing uniforms from them – even including flight suits and kit for our own Special Forces – is plainly bonkers.
“The MoD should urgently review these contracts and consider options for alternative supply chains, which don’t lead back to Beijing.”
Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood said Whitehall had “failed to learn the lessons from the pandemic.”
“China is seen as a strategic competitor, but there’s more to it than that. We seem to have lost all the lessons we learned about relying on these overstretched supply lines,’ he said.
“Ultimately, if they fail, we’re screwed.
“This is a critical asset for Britain, even though it’s not lethal. If we suddenly had to mobilise and then introduce the draft – which is a real possibility in the next five years – where would we get our uniforms from?”
While the Government has yet to conduct its audit on China, a policy to warm relations is being driven by the Treasury.
Shortly after coming to power, Labour ceded sovereignty over the Chagos Islands and handed them over to China’s ally Mauritius – a decision which the previous government had rejected after deliberation.
In October David Lammy became only the second foreign secretary in six years to visit China for a meeting with his powerful counterpart, Wang Yi, and Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang,
That visit brought accusations that he was backtracking on pre-election promises to declare China’s treatment of the Uighur minority as genocide.
All the while, Beijing’s ruling Communist Party continues to flout international agreements with the UK.
Nowhere was this more apparent than the recent jailing of 45 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists – some for as much as ten years – in direct contravention of the Sino-British joint declaration on Hong Kong.
Those sentences were given just one day after Sir Keir held a private meeting with Chinese premier Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Brazil.
It caused former diplomat Charlie Parton, who spent 22 years working in or on China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, to observe: “Policy on China isn’t directed by the FCDO, but by the Treasury – and that’s a problem, because they really don’t understand China.
“There are only three civil servants at director general level who know anything about China – one is in Beijing, one is at the UN and the other is currently on language training.”
The contracts have caused consternation among senior military commanders, too, with one warning that China could easily tamper with the kit it is sending,
“I cannot think of anything more unwise than having our uniforms made by an adversary that the West might one day be in conflict with – yet the government are only interested in the cheapest price,” said the serving senior officer.
“While I have every respect for the DE&S, I doubt very much that each item is being fully scrutinised. China has the capability of stitching miniature trackers into kit in order to monitor where British troops operate.
“In my opinion UK military clothing should be made in the UK.”
Last night Whitehall officials pointed out that the UK was bound by the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement , which means it cannot favour British industry over other signatories.
But the agreement specifically allows for exceptions based on national security interests.
China expert and former diplomat Matthew Henderson called for a public inquiry
“One would like to think DE&AS is exercising due diligence, but how much can we really depend on that?” he said
“An army can’t walk when it hasn’t got boots, sailors can’t sail without proper protective clothing, and soldiers become more vulnerable if combat uniform specially treated to make them less visible to enemy are defective.”
Referring to PPE that Beijing sent to Europe and the US during the pandemic and which turned out to be useless, he added: “How far do we go to save a few pence – should we import Chinese bullets too?
“China is in cahoots with our worst enemy, Russia, and is enabling Moscow to disrupt and destroy unity between the United States and Europe on the one hand, and the security of Europe on the other
“Those that green-lit these contracts are aiding and abetting an enemy -these contract should be torn up and a formal inquiry held.”
An MOD spokesperson said: “We do not have contracts with Chinese suppliers.
“Where suppliers do source textiles from China, strict rules must be adhered to, including to ensure security and prevent modern slavery in supply chains.”