Labour accused of turning ‘blind eye to slavery’ over solar panels made in China

MPs likely to be whipped against move to add protections, as government says it is already taking action on risk of forced labour

Ministers have been accused of turning a blind eye to slavery" by ordering Labour MPs to remove legal protections to stop money being spent by state-owned Great British Energy on solar panels manufactured by forced labour in China.

The protections were added to the government bill in the House of Lords via an amendment from the cross-bench peer David Alton, which said the new body must not spend money on solar or other materials where supply chains had credible evidence of modern slavery".