China could bring Britain to a 'standstill' by switching off access to our power grid, a former MI6 chief has warned.

In an ominous address, Sir Richard Dearlove claimed on Wednesday that Beijing could hold the UK to 'ransom' by growing our dependency on Chinese steel and tech – then cutting our supplies when it chooses.

Speaking to MPs and peers in Parliament, the former chief spy said: 'Peacetime dependencies give China strategic leverage, and in a crisis it gives them weapons of mass disruption which could literally bring this country to a complete standstill.'

He added: 'Britain and its allies do retain the capacity to design and assemble the apparatus on which the grid depends.

'But the material without which none of this can be built is now concentrated in the hands of the very country which the director general of MI5 has identified as the most serious threat to Britain's national security.'

This comes as Andy Burnham on Tuesday spoke to President Xi for the first time since becoming Prime Minister.

A Downing Street statement said the leaders committed to 'a long-term and consistent comprehensive strategic partnership between the UK and China'.

But Sir Richard warned that President Xi is fulfilling his dream of global domination by 2049 'under our very noses'.

And he said that Britain 'complacently deindustrialising' had become a 'chronic danger' as China exerts control over critical minerals markets.

'In ceasing to manufacture it has exported its exposure to the energy systems of its suppliers, some of whom are strategic adversaries.

'Our foreign policy is therefore fettered and could even be held to ransom.'

China has been steadily increasing its global steel exports as Britain and other countries in Europe have seen their industrial bases decline.

And Britain last year raced to save British steel after its Chinese owners Jingye sought to close the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe.

Shadow home office minister Alicia Kearns blasted Labour last night for 'making our country less resilient and less safe' by relying on China for essential materials.

She said: 'Ministers should be taking measures to protect the grid and the British people's access to energy.

'Instead, they are insisting on overground electricity, making it much easier for foreign powers and terrorists to take down the grid.

'This demonstrates their denial about the scale of the threat.'

This comes as Labour was branded the 'Welfare Party' after Mr Burnham on Wednesday said that national security 'cannot come at the expense of social security'.

Ms Kearns added that Labour's 'failure to fund defence leaves us exposed, and their obsession with net zero leaves us reliant on other countries'.

Labour MP Graeme Downie, who chairs campaign group the Coalition on Secure Technology, told the Mail: 'The government needs to show it is aware of this threat and is defending against it, and through that, they need to better inform the public about what they should do to prepare for the possibility of power interruptions should they occur.'

And North Durham Labour MP Luke Akehurst said: 'We need to take Sir Richard's warning about dependency on China for key products and technologies extremely seriously.'