"Chinese surveillance firm recommits to UK after new guidance", 23 October 2023

Hikvision, the Chinese surveillance firm identified by the UK government as a security threat, has “recommitted” to Britain after receiving clarification that a ban on its cameras being positioned at sensitive sites does not extend to public authorities or police stations. In a message to clients, the Chinese state-owned company, whose equipment is prohibited in the US on national security grounds, said the new guidance would allow it to “move forward with our mission”.

The permissive approach to Hikvision, whose cameras have reportedly been used in Uyghur “re-education camps” in the autonomous territory of Xinjiang in north-west China, has been adopted despite ministers conceding last November that the camera systems and their connectivity posed a threat to the UK’s security...

...In a letter to Hikvision sent this August, the government’s chief security adviser, Vincent Devine, informed the Chinese company, that while the definition of “sensitive sites” was “not public”, it applied to areas “on the central government estate where security consideration are always paramount – for example, defence and intelligence facilities”...

...The former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith, who has long raised concerns about the role of the Chinese state in the UK, said the guidance provided to Hikvision was not in line with what he had been told would be government policy. He said: “It is not what I discussed with ministers at the time and not what I understood them to do be doing. If it’s a security risk, it should be banned from everywhere that is a public body. And it should be well known that the government view is that the British public should not be buying Hikvision as it is a data gatherer and a security risk...

...The US banned imports and sales of Hikvision equipment last year and there have been calls for the UK to follow. Beijing’s national intelligence law requires firms to store their data in China and provide Chinese public security and intelligence services with access...

...Justin Hollis, a public affairs director at Hikvision, said the company was not a threat to the UK’s security and had ambitious plans in a range of sectors, including transport and health, having had the position clarified. He said: “Following extensive engagement, the government has written to us to acknowledge that our equipment will not be banned from the broader public sector. This decision recognises the important role Hikvision products play in protecting property and promoting public safety....