![\"\"](\"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI_279627692-78e6-300x225.webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
An in-built \u2018kill switch\u2019 could cause hundreds of electric buses in Britain to be remotely turned off by\u00a0China<\/a>, British security services have warned.<\/p>\n Buses on the roads could stop working or be switched off completely over the internet, officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) believe.<\/p>\n Officials have warned that electric buses connected to the internet via onboard SIM cards could be at risk of meddling by Beijing.<\/p>\n The vehicles in question are Chinese-made Yutong electric buses, which were bought as part of the Labour Party\u2019s bid to lower carbon emissions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Concerns were raised following an inquiry in November into Yutong buses operating in\u00a0Norway<\/a>, which suggested the vehicles could be remotely \u2018stopped or rendered inoperable by the manufacturer\u2019.<\/p>\n However, investigators have said evidence of a \u2018kill switch\u2019 has yet to be used, while\u00a0government<\/a>\u00a0security experts insist there is no serious risk that the buses would be disconnected remotely.<\/p>\n In Britain, there are around 700 Yutong buses in operation.<\/p>\n Stagecoach and First Bus are among the more well-known groups to use such buses, and they are thought to each own more than 200 of the vehicles.<\/p>\n Last month,\u00a0Nottingham<\/a>\u00a0City Council said it had replaced its entire single-decker bus stock with Yutong electric models, and intends to replace its whole double-decker fleet by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n In Norway, firewalls and other security warnings have been implemented on buses as a result of the inquiry, but there are no plans to do the same in Britain.<\/p>\n Despite fears over security, ministers are unlikely to cease the sale of Yutong buses because there is not sufficient evidence of Chinese subterfuge, Whitehall sources told the Telegraph.<\/p>\n They added that banning the buses could cause diplomatic tension between the UK and China, which Prime Minister Sir\u00a0Keir Starmer<\/a>\u00a0is keen to keep intact ahead of his state visit to Beijing at the end of this month.<\/p>\n \u2018They haven\u2019t found any evidence that it has actually happened\u2019, sources told the paper.<\/p>\n The findings will likely fuel fears about the potential threat of Chinese control over British infrastructure, which is not helped\u00a0by high-profile espionage cases between the UK and China<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Close](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_278279791-852e.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646\")
<\/div>