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Chinese carmaker Chery will also use the same tracks as the MoD to test their vehicles

A Chinese research centre set to be built near a Ministry of Defence site is cause for "enormous concern", an ex-spy boss has confirmed.

Colonel Phil Ingram, formerly in the Army's Intelligence Corps, said Chery Automobile's new facility near UTAC Millbrook could be used to spy on the armed forces, capturing military data.

Milbrook, a MoD testing site in Bedfordshire, is due soon to have a new neighbour, Chery, China's fifth-largest car manufacturer.

The MoD site, boasting 700 acres, is a testing ground for military vehicles, with 40 miles of specialised tracks.

Col Ingram told the Telegraph: "This concerns me enormously. The Chinese are positioning themselves in the perfect place to help develop further espionage ambitions.

"I’m 100 per cent certain they will use this site to spy on us.

"We will have a Chinese hi-tech company that produces surveillance devices in the shape of an automobile beside one of our classified military vehicle testing grounds…

The Chinese car manufacturer has described its move to Millbrook as a "major expansion" of its global research and development operations.

It plans to use the site to trial how its vehicles and chassis perform on UK roads, sharing the same test track used by the MoD.

Gary Lan, chief executive of Chery International UK, said: "The establishment of our R&D Centre of Excellence is the next step in our long-term plan for the UK."

The manufacturer has already sparked security concerns elsewhere.

Israel recalled 700 vehicles from its military fleet, most of them Chery Tiggo 8 Pro plug-in hybrids, following unconfirmed fears within the IDF.

The cars had been used by senior officers, including lieutenant colonels, colonels and intelligence chiefs, amid concern that China could exploit them to eavesdrop on sensitive conversations.

Similar fears have surfaced in Spain, where intelligence officials last week raised concerns over a new factory being built by Chinese state-owned carmaker SAIC near the Ferrol Naval Base in the north of the country.

Officials allegedly feared Beijing could use the plant to gather intelligence on naval shipping movements.

British intelligence figures have issued repeated warnings over China's potential threat to UK security.

Sir Ken McCallum, director general of MI5, said in October: "Do Chinese state actors present a UK national security threat? The answer is, of course, they do, every day."

Many modern electric vehicles rely on advanced cameras, radar, ultrasonic sensors and Lidar technology to navigate roads, detect lane markings, interpret signage and identify pedestrians.

Chinese law requires companies to provide all the data it collects upon the request of the Government.

This could potentially enable the mapping of military sites, monitoring troop movements and tracking of deployment schedules.

Colonel Ingram said : "Article 7 of China's national intelligence legislation requires all Chinese companies and individuals to comply with Chinese national intelligence when requested to do so. It means if Chinese intelligence asks them to do something, they have to — no ifs, no buts, no maybes."

The Government confirmed back in 2025 there are no centralised restrictions on Chinese-made EVs entering Ministry of Defence areas.

The admission came in response to a parliamentary question from Conservative peer Lord Andrew Robathan, who asked if there were any limits placed on the movement of Chinese EVs on Ministry of Defence sites.

Defence minister Lord Vernon Coaker responded: "The Ministry of Defence takes the security of defence assets very seriously and is working with other Government departments to understand and mitigate any potential threats to national security from vehicles.

"Our policies and procedures take account of the potential threats from all types of vehicle, not just those manufactured in China, and we have issued appropriate internal directions to all drivers and passengers.

"There are no centrally mandated policy restrictions on the movement of Chinese-manufactured vehicles.

"We are aware that individual defence organisations may have stricter requirements relating to electric vehicles on some sites, but we do not provide specific details for security reasons."

Chery maintains that its investment in the new UK site complies fully with British law.

A spokesman said: "Chery operates as a commercial automotive company, and our research and development activities in the UK are solely for vehicle engineering and development purposes.

"The cybersecurity of our vehicles and the data privacy of our customers are of paramount importance to us.

"As an international company operating in more than 130 countries around the world, we respect and comply with applicable local laws and regulations in each market where we operate."

Millbrook vice-president Kirsty Andrew said: "As with all prospective tenants, a formal risk review is conducted to ensure there would be no negative impact on all of our existing tenants and customers.

"Our rigorous security protocols developed over the past 50-plus years ensure industry competitors can operate and test alongside one another routinely, securely, and without incident. We are confident that this will remain the case."

An MoD spokesman said: "The first duty of Government is national security, and we take the security of our equipment, networks and data extremely seriously.

"We mitigate the risks through strict security procedures and robust safeguards are in place at the UTAC testing facility."