MOD ORDERS £37M OF KIT FROM CHINA

BRITAIN'S Armed Forces are being kitted and clothed by China in what critics have called a "needless risk to national security".

- Marco Giannangeli

Defence has embarked on a £ 37 million contract for a vast amount of Army, Royal called a "needless risk to national security".

Official data shows the Ministry of Navy and RAF uniforms which are being manufactured in Chinese factories.

More than 60,000 individual units of combat kit are being manufactured in China, ranging from flight overalls for RAF Top Guns to fire-retardant overalls worn by sailors on Navy ships including HMS Prince of Wales, the carrier 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 specially treated to reduce a soldier's radar signature on the battlefield.

Other items include shirts, trousers, jackets and outerwear designed for challenging conditions, as well as hats, gloves and belts.

The revelations have brought all-round condemnation, including from Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a member of the InterParliamentary Alliance on China, which monitors and scrutinises Beijing.

The former Conservative leader said: "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 a country that poses a threat to us should be where we get our uniforms from.

"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?" 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. They're embarrassed about the idea we'd make a decision on British products.