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Lord Blencathra (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 15 September 2026

Debate

UK Water Companies: Chinese Financial Influence

Contribution

I thank the Minister for that reply, but that is for the future. The Times has revealed that emails on financial records obtained from the London office of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s largest bank, show that the Chinese bank issued nearly £1.26 billion in loans and borrowing options to UK water and energy companies up to July 2024. Furthermore, there were examples of concerns raised in the London office about internal due diligence being overruled by bank staff in Beijing, as well as concerns about money laundering when the bank moved £960 million for Huawei back from the UK into China following the arrest of one of its top officials. As a result of its investment in our strategic industries, there are deep concerns that this poses a financial security risk, especially since the ICBC has continued to accept business from Russian and Belarusian clients. What will the Government do about this potential security threat?

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