Half a million NHS records to be accessed by Chinese researchers, despite MI5 fears

Security experts warn of long-term risks as UK opens medical vaults to China

Despite warnings that health data could be misused by Beijing, Chinese researchers will be granted access to half a million anonymised NHS medical records.

The records held by the Stockport-based UK Biobank constitute one of the world’s largest health data resources and include information volunteered by half a million Britons.

Security officials, including MI5, have raised eyebrows over the risk of data being exploited by the Chinese state due to Chinese laws that compel companies and individuals to cooperate with national intelligence services.

Despite this, the NHS body responsible for health data has recently cleared Chinese institutions to access UK Biobank’s general practice records. The data to be accessed includes de-identified GP records, genomes, tissue samples, and lifestyle information.

According to an analysis by The Guardian, nearly one out of five successful applications to use the UK Biobank data now comes from China. This includes researchers affiliated with Chinese organisations such as BGI, a genomics giant that has faced allegations of aiding surveillance and suppression of ethnic minorities.

In 2023, the US blacklisted one unit of BGI Genomics, citing risks to national security and military misuse. Reuters revealed four years ago that BGI was collecting genetic information from millions of women to conduct large-scale studies on population characteristics and was also working in partnership with China’s military.

Although UK Biobank claims personal identifiers such as names and dates of birth are removed, experts warn that individuals could still be identified by cross-referencing data sets. There is also growing criticism over the lack of reciprocal access to Chinese datasets and fear that the move would further leave the NHS more vulnerableto attacks.

In a statement published on Tuesday, Biobank claims it has the Government’s support for its position. The government was quoted as saying, “National security is one of the key foundations of this government. Security and privacy considerations are always taken into account when UK health data is used to drive forward our understanding of diseases and advance scientific research. Health data is always anonymised, removing details that allow people to be identified, and only shared with legitimate researchers”.

This latest development comes amid wider concern over China’s expanding footprint in key UK industries. This week, the government moved to nationalise British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant after talks with its Chinese owner, Jingye, collapsed.

The government cited the need to secure vital supplies and protect national interests, highlighting the broader debate over the risks of foreign control in sensitive sectors.