Threatening Chinese spy cameras found on King Charles' Sandringham estate
Surveillance cameras owned by a company controlled by the Chinese Communist Party have been found on King Charles III's Sandringham Estate, it has been reported.
CCTV cameras manufactured by Hikvision are said to be used at multiple locations on Sandringham Estate, where the royal family spend their Christmases.
The cameras have facial recognition technology and have also been sited at entrances for various Whitehall ministries including the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Energy Security and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Hikvision has been banned by the US Government from all of their federal agencies.
King Charles III and the Queen Consort in January 2023 (PA)The company reportedly worked closely with China's People's Liberation Army - one of the branches of the country's military.
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A Mail on Sunday investigation found the Hikvision-owned cameras in places of national importance, while the firm denies handing any footage to the Chinese government.
The firm is subject to China's National Intelligence Law, which means it could be ordered to hand over data to the intelligence service.
At Sandringham, five cameras were reportedly found - three were by car parks and two on trees near a play area.
Palace officials have not told the paper if Hikvision cameras were also installed in restricted areas of the grounds.
A Hikvision spokesperson said the cameras are "compliant with the applicable UK laws and regulations and are subject to strict security requirements".
A Hikvision store in central China (Future Publishing via Getty Images)Jake Hurfurt, from Big Brother Watch, told the Mail on Sunday: "Chinese state-owned CCTV has no place in the UK. These cameras should not be watching over any British streets, let alone the heart of our Government."
Luke De Pulford, of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, added: "Turning a blind eye to the security risks posed by these cameras, after promising to remove them, is the height of negligence."
A Buckingham Palace spokesman told the paper: "We do not comment on security."
The Mirror contacted the palace for a comment.
A Hikvision spokesperson told the Mirror:“Technical analysis of Hikvision products have never indicated they are a threat to the national security interests of United Kingdom. It is regrettable that some individuals have been willing to politicise a critical element of the country's security architecture, thus reducing public trust in the vital work that our products support.
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As a manufacturer, Hikvision has no visibility into end-users' video data and cannot access end users' video data. In the UK, Hikvision does not store end-users' video data and does not offer cloud storage. Therefore, Hikvision cannot transmit data from end-users to third parties. Hikvision cameras are compliant with the applicable UK laws and regulations and are subject to strict security requirements."
It comes a few weeks after Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Chinese satellites have likely spied on the UK and would have been "shot down" just as they have been recently in the US.
The Biden administration says the Chinese balloon shot down over the US last month had been fitted with special surveillance equipment capable of collecting intelligence signals.
The balloon is part of an enormous aerial programme linked to Beijing's military and has targeted over 40 countries, the administration added.
Mr Wallace said it was highly likely that a similar balloon may have floated over Britain, collecting information from below.
Mr Wallace said it was “not unusual” for satellites to soar through UK skies, adding that they have done so for years.
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