Ed Miliband set to U-turn and ban solar panels made by slave labour (2025)

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Ed Miliband is set to perform a U-turn by issuing a legal guarantee that Britain's state-owned energy company won't use solar panels produced by Chinese slaves.

The Energy Secretary will reportedly introduce an amendment to legislation forcing GB Energy to ensure 'slavery and human trafficking' is not part of its supply chain.

According to The Times, it will ensure solar panels,wind turbines, and batteries must not contain materials suspected of being produced through slave labour.

Campaigners warned the renewables sector is rife with Chinese slave labour.

And the Tories said the Government faced 'serious questions' about whether it could still meet its green energy goals without Chinese-produced solar panels.

China produces 80 per cent of the global supply of solar panels and theXinjiang region produces up to 40 per cent of the world's polysilicon – a key component.

Xinjiang is also where more than a million Uighurs have been detained, according to human rights groups. And there is evidence of Uighurs being used as forced labour.

Mr Miliband's climbdown comes after the Government last month blocked measures seeking to stop taxpayers' cash being used to buy solar panels made by slaves.

Peers had sought to stop public funds from being used to purchase products from a company where there was 'credible evidence' of modern slavery in its supply chain.

But the Government ordered Labour MPs to strip out a House of Lords amendment to the Great British Energy Bill, which drew a furious backlash.

Some 92 Labour MPs abstained on the vote and a Government source admitted there had now been 'recognition of the strength of feeling' on the issue.

Ministers are said to have been 'convinced that GB Energy needs to be an industry leader' in rooting out slavery from supply chains.

Luke de Pulford, the executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), warned the use of slave labour extends throughout the renewables sector.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Unfortunately, there's a problem right the way throughout the renewables sector with state-imposed forced labour in China.

'They have labour transfer schemes where the government conscripts, very often ethnic minorities, and forces them to work against their will, and sadly, many such workers are placed within renewable industry in China.'

Mr de Pulford was asked how difficult it will be for the Government to increase its use of renewables without using Chinese slave labour.

He added: 'It's going to require a transition because China has such a dominance of the production of polysilicon and nearly 40 per cent of that comes from Xinjiang and is connected in some way to these labour transfer schemes, so we're going to have to diversify.

'But it's not impossible and companies are, I think, slowly inching towards a better place – we have to find a better way of doing it, that doesn't mean that we have a green transition reliant upon Uighur slavery.'

Tory MP Andrew Bowie, the acting shadow energy secretary, said the Government's move would lead to a 'real slowdown in the deployment of solar in the UK'.

He said: 'It's a belated realisation that the use of slave labour in the manufacturing of solar technology is real.

'But Labour really need to answer serious questions about whether their own self-imposed targets can be met without these solar panels, and what they're going to do to address this.'

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: 'No industry in the UK should rely on forced labour, and through Great British Energy we have a clear plan to build the supply chains needed to support a new era of clean homegrown power, bringing jobs and investment.

'We are working across Government to tackle the issue of forced labour in solar supply chains, and the relaunched solar taskforce is focusing on developing supply chains that are resilient, sustainable and free from forced labour.

'Having listened carefully to the views of MPs and peers, we are considering how we can go further to help ensure Great British Energy is a sector leader in this area and will provide an update shortly.'

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