Britain’s supplies of critical minerals vital to industry are vulnerable to countries like China because of the failure of successive UK governments to secure them, MPs have warned.
Key minerals such as cobalt and lithium, essential in the manufacture of goods ranging from electric vehicle batteries to wind turbines, are dominated by Chinese firms, leaving the UK exposed to any moves by Beijing to restrict exports for political leverage.
“While our allies have built rapidly on years of preparation, the UK response has been from a standing start,” MPs on the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee said.
Their report criticised successive governments for failing to recognise the importance of critical minerals to the economy and secure sufficient access to them.
Tory MP Alicia Kearns, who chairs the committee, said: “From F-35 fighter jets to the batteries in our phones, critical minerals are the building blocks of many modern technologies.
“They are integral to everyday living, the green transition and our nation’s defence. But this reliance has created vulnerability – and in the race for resources, the UK is falling behind.
“China has strategically embedded itself in the middle of the critical minerals supply chain, developing the vast majority of the world’s refining capacity.”
Ms Kearns added: “For three decades we have been asleep at the wheel, repeatedly failing to recognise the importance of critical minerals and the dangers of our current reliance on autocratic countries.
“It is particularly clear that we need to confront the weakness created by our dependency on a single state: China.
“These minerals power modern life and if China pulls the plug, we will all pay the price.”
Ministers needed to present a “coherent plan” over security supply chain resilience in these key materials or risk losing key sectors such as the car industry, MPs said.
Their report criticises ministers for failing to note UK supply chain vulnerabilities before producing the Critical Minerals Strategy earlier this year.
They said the plan, which was published in March, lacked urgency. MPs said the Government needed to provide specific targets for priority industrial sectors as well as more detailed implementation plans.
Ms Kearns said: “This is primarily about power, not trade. The supply of critical minerals is more a geopolitical issue than a geological one. The scale of the challenge ahead of us is huge, but the need to act now is undeniable.”
