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Spies fear Ed Miliband will be weak on China as we need their green tech to hit his Net Zero targets

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Owen, G. (2026, September 19). Spies fear Ed Miliband will be weak on China as we need their green tech to hit his Net Zero targets. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16145183/Miliband-appeasing-China-solar-panels.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Daily Mail · collected 2026-09-19 · by Glen Owen

Quick Summary

Security officials fear that UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband may be overly accommodating towards China due to the country’s importance for Britain's renewable energy supply. The UK imports more than two-thirds of its solar panels from China, raising concerns about national security given Beijing’s involvement in cyber-attacks and industrial espionage. These sources argue that Miliband’s focus on climate change and closer ties with China compromise British security interests.
Written by AI on 2026-09-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Ed Miliband, Britain's Energy Secretary at the time, has been criticized by security officials for what they perceive as weakness towards China in matters of national security while pursuing closer ties to support his Net Zero targets. These concerns stem from Britain’s heavy reliance on Chinese imports, particularly solar panels, which account for over two-thirds of the country’s supply. Critics argue that this dependence makes the UK vulnerable to potential technological and cyber threats posed by China. Former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove warned about Britain's increasing dependency on Chinese technology, suggesting it could be manipulated against the UK during a crisis. Despite these warnings, Miliband has continued to engage with Chinese officials, including arranging meetings with high-ranking figures like Wang Yi, the foreign minister of China, indicating an ongoing push for bilateral cooperation despite security apprehensions.

Written for “UK China Relations” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 UK China Relations
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
1 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 9439 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Glen Owen
28 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 In response, Ms Fahnbulleh – a protege of climate zealot Ed Miliband, who has previously indicated her opposition to the project on environmental grounds – insisted she would have the final say.
🔮 Mr Burnham’s statement has led to speculation as to whether the King, who is head of the Commonwealth, will be forced to make a public apology on behalf of Britain, or at least drastically change his keynote speech to a gathering of leaders in Antigua on Tuesday.
🔮 The news came after military experts warned that President Vladimir Putin's vessels could be used to deploy their own remote-controlled aircraft in a mass attack on the UK.
🔮 Nigel Farage will this week attempt to revive Reform UK’s poll ratings by appointing his first ever defence spokesman – and pledging to eliminate ‘wokery’ from the Imperial War Museum.
🔮 Ms Truss uses a new book to claim that the radical measures she tried to introduce in her infamous 2022 mini-Budget would have left the public finances in a better state than they are now under Mr Burnham.
🔮 Kemi Badenoch's speech to her party conference earlier this month, in which she said she would never do a deal with 'THAT' – Nigel Farage's party – appears to have given the Tories lift-off.
🔮 The posts from Mr Kassam – who once described himself as a 'one-man human shield' for Mr Farage and said he would take him to steam rooms to stop him sweating in public – have come amid accusations Reform is pursuing a so-called 'ethno-nationalist' strategy, with MPs claiming only those who are white can be truly English.
🔮 'We thought that he might use the moment to call a general election,' says a senior Conservative source.
🔮 Zia Yusuf claimed that ‘the establishment is working against patriotic British people’ after a designated specifically for foreign prisoners refused to remove books and practice papers on how to pass the Life in the UK Test - a key stepping stone to become a UK citizen. After learning that HMP Maidstone had purchased the books for its inmates using taxpayers’ money, Reform wrote to the governor, Paul Mason, asking him to remove from the prison library ‘books and study material which may overtly help foreign national prisoners prepare for the ‘Life in the UK ‘ test and for the wider naturalisation process.
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Also by Glen Owen
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 28 articles by Glen Owen →

Topics

Beijing Britain British China Chinese

Subjects

China GPE · 8× Miliband PERSON · 7× Beijing GPE · 4× Chinese NORP · 4× Britain GPE · 3× British NORP · 2× Ed Miliband PERSON · 2× Daily Mail ORG · 1× Energy ORG · 1× Wang Hongzhi PERSON · 1×

Narrative

We worry about all forms of Chinese technology which can potentially be controlled or detonated remotely.' The panels have been blamed for a number of high-profile fires over the past year, although there is no evidence that the Chinese were responsible. Britain's Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Wang Hongzhi, head of China's National Energy Administration, shake hands at a signing ceremony at the China-UK Energy Dialogue in Beijing in March last year One of Mr Miliband's first moves after he was appointed in the summer was to arrange to meet Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-20
🔮 This month, former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove warned that the loss of British manufacturing left the country dangerously reliant on China for critical technology, and said it had the capacity to plunge Britain into chaos by hacking the National Grid. Sir Richard said: 'Such peacetime dependencies give China strategic leverage, and in a crisis it gives them weapons of mass disruption which could literally bring this country to a standstill.' Mr Miliband's views on China have compounded tensions with the Trump administration, where officials have dubbed him 'Ed Miliwatt' due to his Net Zero beliefs.

Claims (15 extracted, 1 hedged)

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Ed Miliband is 'appeasing' China despite the risks it poses to British security because the UK is so reliant on Beijing for the supply of solar panels, security sources have said. asserted
sources → see → panels
The Foreign Secretary, a zealous advocate of the Net Zero agenda on climate change, is regarded by many senior members of the UK's diplomatic and intelligence community as 'weak' on the security threat posed by China. asserted
Secretary → regard → China
Despite mounting evidence of Beijing's state-sponsored activities in the UK – including cyber-attacks, spying, political infiltration and industrial espionage – Mr Miliband supports building closer ties with the country. asserted
Miliband → mount → country
The UK is heavily reliant on solar panels from China, importing more than two thirds of its stock from the country. asserted
UK → import → country
In his previous job as energy secretary, Mr Miliband pledged to go 'further and faster' on replacing gas and oil with renewable sources such as solar power, by fast-tracking planning approval for solar farms and introducing plug-in equipment for homes. asserted
Miliband → pledge → homes
A security source said: 'All the noises coming from the Foreign Secretary are about economic appeasement and climate change accords. asserted
noises → say → appeasement
We don't hear a lot about national security from him. asserted
We → hear → him
He is compromised by wanting their panels too much. asserted
He → compromise → panels
We worry about all forms of Chinese technology which can potentially be controlled or detonated remotely.' The panels have been blamed for a number of high-profile fires over the past year, although there is no evidence that the Chinese were responsible. Britain's Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Wang Hongzhi, head of China's National Energy Administration, shake hands at a signing ceremony at the China-UK Energy Dialogue in Beijing in March last year One of Mr Miliband's first moves after he was appointed in the summer was to arrange to meet Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. asserted
he → worry → Yi
This month, former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove warned that the loss of British manufacturing left the country dangerously reliant on China for critical technology, and said it had the capacity to plunge Britain into chaos by hacking the National Grid. Sir Richard said: 'Such peacetime dependencies give China strategic leverage, and in a crisis it gives them weapons of mass disruption which could literally bring this country to a standstill.' Mr Miliband's views on China have compounded tensions with the Trump administration, where officials have dubbed him 'Ed Miliwatt' due to his Net Zero beliefs. uncertain
officials → warn → beliefs
Tony Blair has urged Labour to rip up Mr Miliband's 'illogical' Net Zero targets in order to focus on securing 'cheap energy' and boost economic growth. asserted
Blair → urge → growth
The former PM said: 'Xi Jinping [the Chinese president] is not sitting there in Beijing saying: 'I wonder what that Ed Miliband thinks.' asserted
Miliband → say → what
Britain's emissions are under 1 per cent of global emissions, we can't solve climate change, and to impose costs on our own businesses and consumers in order to accelerate Net Zero when the rest of the world is not doing so – I don't understand the logic.' asserted
I → solve → logic
Last year, Mr Miliband was forced to change solar supply chains after evidence showed that 40 per cent of polysilicon – a key component in solar panels – comes from China's Xinjiangg region, where widespread use of forced labour has been documented. asserted
use → force → labour
A spokesman for Mr Miliband did not respond to a request for comment. asserted
spokesman → respond → comment
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