British spies are being filmed by Chinese surveillance cameras in front of MI6 headquarters, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Cameras made by Hikvision – which is banned in US federal buildings on national security grounds – have been installed on a lamp post across the road from the base’s front gates in London.
Security experts last night warned the cameras, which rotate up to 360 degrees and can zoom in from up to 165ft away, could be used by Beijing spies to monitor all those going in and out of the HQ of Britain’s foreign intelligence service.
Our reporters also found Hikvision cameras installed in front of Vauxhall Underground station, which could record MI6 personnel commuting to and from work.
The security blunder comes after the Cabinet Office vowed to ban Hikvision cameras from all Government buildings on national security grounds.
This is because Hikvision – a state-owned company with strong links to the Chinese Communist Party – is suspected of providing a surveillance back door to China’s intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security (MSS).
The Hikvision cameras near the MI6 building have been installed by Lambeth Council to monitor traffic and antisocial behaviour in the area. But security experts last night urged the council to remove them immediately.
Philip Ingram, a former Army intelligence officer, said: ‘The cameras pose a very serious security risk.
The data that has been collected by Lambeth Council could be intercepted by the Chinese MSS, and cameras outside any intelligence service building in the UK would be high priority for them.’
He added: ‘Lambeth should remove them. I don’t think any of our public bodies should be using cameras that come from a country that has the potential to use them against our state.’
MI6 spies perform some of the most daring overseas assignments, from infiltrating terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda to running agents inside hostile states including China and Russia.
For this reason, obtaining images of the men and women who operate out of the building would prove a vital source of information for enemy spies.
Madeleine Stone, from the pressure group Big Brother Watch, said: ‘Hikvision is owned by the Chinese state and has a history of serious security flaws. It is highly embarrassing for MI6 that these cameras are monitoring them.
‘The widespread use of Chinese state-owned surveillance companies clearly poses a risk to the privacy and security of everyone.’
Hikvision has to comply with China’s draconian National Intelligence Law, which requires it to hand over any information, including stored data, to the MSS.
Human rights groups also oppose the use of Hikvision cameras because the firm is used by the Chinese authorities to surveil millions of persecuted Uighur Muslims living in concentration camps.
Last month, it emerged that Hikvision cameras were installed at the northern headquarters of GCHQ, the Government’s eavesdropping service, in Manchester.
Heron House, which GCHQ had leased from Manchester City Council, had at least eight Hikvision cameras installed around it.
The MoS also previously revealed how Hikvision cameras were installed in Army barracks and sites across the country – including the King’s Sandringham Estate.
The Cabinet Office vowed to remove all Hikvision cameras from Government buildings. It said it will publish a timeline for doing so, but has not yet. Last night, the Foreign Office, which is in charge of MI6, said it did not comment on security matters. Lambeth Council did not respond to our questions.
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