Government departments have been ordered to stop installing Chinese-made surveillance cameras on “sensitive sites” amid fears they could be open to compromise.
The Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said a review of security risks had led ministers to conclude that they should be banned across Whitehall.
The order applies to “visual surveillance systems” made by companies subject to China’s national security law, which requires companies to co-operate with Beijing’s security services.
It follows research this year that found nearly 40 per cent of UK police forces used Chinese-made CCTV equipment, as did the majority of schools and hospitals.
Only one government department admitted to using the cameras but the true figure is believed to be far higher.
Dowden told MPs the government security
