Senior military and intelligence figures have warned ministers that plans to give China a big stake in Britain’s nuclear power industry pose a threat to national security, The Times has learnt.
George Osborne, the chancellor, hopes to mark President Xi Jinping’s visit to Britain next week by finalising multibillion-pound deals for Chinese state-owned companies to help to build two nuclear power plants. If agreed, China could then design and build a reactor using its own technology at Bradwell on the Essex coast.
Giving China such influence within national infrastructure is causing alarm in security circles. Senior figures have accused the government of rushing into a nuclear partnership with Beijing without proper consideration of potential threats.
“There is a big division between the money men and