Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the China Investment Company’s ownership stake in Heathrow airport on national security.

The Government takes its responsibility for national security extremely seriously and balances this with its continued commitment to welcome inward investment in a way that provides investors with the certainty and transparency they need to do business in the UK.

For any new investments into the UK that fall under an area of the economy deemed to be in a sensitive sector, which includes new investments into the transport sector, we will use the powers afforded by the National Security and Investment Act 2021 to scrutinise transactions and intervene if necessary to protect national security. We work across government to conduct due diligence and other assessments and ensure that any potential national security risk to the UK is handled appropriately.