The solar panels used by the British were made by companies which apparently had a "very high" exposure to forced labour in China, according to the BBC. 
 
In China's Xinjiang region, the production of solar panels has been linked to Uyghur Muslims' alleged exploitation. 
 
Around £200 million is being invested by the British army in solar panels throughout the four of its sites. While responding to the BBC Freedom of Information request, the companies JA Solar, Trina and Qcells were listed by the Ministry of Defence as the solar panel suppliers. 
 
This year, a report published by the UK's Sheffield Hallam University in July flagged the three companies as having "very high" exposure to the production with the use of forced labour in Xinjiang.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/installing-solar-panels-more-eco-friendly-than-planting-trees-study-663013">Installing solar panels more eco-friendly than planting trees: Study</a>

Speaking to the BBC, JA Solar and Qcells said that some actions were taken by them to ensure that forced labour was not a part of their supply chains. 
 
Speaking to BBC, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence said, "We have robust procedures in place that allow us to vet and routinely monitor all aspects of our supply chain which is kept under constant review."

<h2>Lack of transparency in supply chain</h2>

However, one of the authors who wrote the Sheffield Hallam report, Alan Crawford, said that he had gone through the list of companies obtained by the BBC and added that he feels his findings still stood. 
 
Crawford, who is a chemical engineer and has experience in supplier identification, said that big solar firms were not likely to purchase components which they knew were the products of forced labour. 
 
He added that there was a "lack of transparency" in the supply chain because of which some firms had to "hide behind" their "anti-slavery declarations", as reported by BBC.

Watch:&nbsp;Floating an energy idea: Scientists install 400 floating solar panels

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United Kingdom's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been facing appeals to take a harder line against China and to end the reliance of the UK on solar production from the country. 
 
Senior Conservative MP Alicia Kearns has been appealing to the UK government to "sanction and [impose] a ban on any solar company with links to Uyghur forced labour from operating in the UK". 
 
The Chinese government has been accused by the United States of arbitrarily detaining more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang prison camps. 
 
As per the state-sponsored programmes, goods like polysilicon are forcefully produced by the detainees. Polysilicon is a core ingredient in solar panels, as per the US Department of Labour.

(With inputs from agencies)

The solar panels used by the British were made by companies which apparently had a "very high" exposure to forced labour in China, according to the BBC. In China's Xinjiang region, the production of solar panels has been linked to Uyghur Muslims' alleged exploitation.

The solar panels used by the British were made by companies which apparently had a "very high" exposure to forced labour in China, according to the BBC. In China's Xinjiang region, the production of solar panels has been linked to Uyghur Muslims' alleged exploitation. Around £200 million is being invested by the British army in solar panels throughout the four of its sites. While responding to the BBC Freedom of Information request, the companies JA Solar, Trina and Qcells were listed by the Ministry of Defence as the solar panel suppliers. This year, a report published by the UK's Sheffield Hallam University in July flagged the three companies as having "very high" exposure to the production with the use of forced labour in Xinjiang. Also read: Installing solar panels more eco-friendly than planting trees: Study Speaking to the BBC, JA Solar and Qcells said that some actions were taken by them to ensure that forced labour was not a part of their supply chains. Speaking to BBC, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence said, "We have robust procedures in place that allow us to vet and routinely monitor all aspects of our supply chain which is kept under constant review." Lack of transparency in supply chain However, one of the authors who wrote the Sheffield Hallam report, Alan Crawford, said that he had gone through the list of companies obtained by the BBC and added that he feels his findings still stood. Crawford, who is a chemical engineer and has experience in supplier identification, said that big solar firms were not likely to purchase components which they knew were the products of forced labour. He added that there was a "lack of transparency" in the supply chain because of which some firms had to "hide behind" their "anti-slavery declarations", as reported by BBC. Watch: Floating an energy idea: Scientists install 400 floating solar panels United Kingdom's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been facing appeals to take a harder line against China and to end the reliance of the UK on solar production from the country. Senior Conservative MP Alicia Kearns has been appealing to the UK government to "sanction and [impose] a ban on any solar company with links to Uyghur forced labour from operating in the UK". The Chinese government has been accused by the United States of arbitrarily detaining more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang prison camps. As per the state-sponsored programmes, goods like polysilicon are forcefully produced by the detainees. Polysilicon is a core ingredient in solar panels, as per the US Department of Labour. (With inputs from agencies)

British Army used solar panels manufactured by forced labour in China: Report

Some 40% of solar farms in Britain, including those used in projects commissioned by government departments such as defence and coal, use panels from firms linked to forced labour camps in China's Xinjiang, a UK paper has reported.

Workers from the Uyghur minority in the region have reportedly been subjected to exploitative and abusive living and working conditions that may constitute arbitrary detention, human trafficking, forced labour and enslavement by the use of forced labour.

Findings gathered by a UN working group on Business and Human Rights had stated that "hundreds of thousands of members of the Uyghur minority have been held in 're-education' facilities" and that "many have also reportedly been forcibly transferred to work in factories in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region and other Chinese provinces".

According to a new report from The Guardian, which named Jinko Solar, JA Solar and Trina Solar as firms benefiting from forced labour in the Chinese region.&nbsp;Those firms are some of the biggest manufacturers of solar panels in the world, but recent research shows that they could be leveraging forced labour from the more than one million men and women from the Muslim Uyghur community that have been interned in camps in the Xinjiang region.&nbsp;

As per The Guardian's report, confidential industry data suggests that up to 40% of the UK’s solar farms were built using panels manufactured by China’s biggest solar panel companies, including Jinko Solar, JA Solar and Trina Solar.

These firms have been named in a recent report on the internment of more than 1 million men and women from the Muslim Uyghur community, in what UK MPs on Thursday voted to describe as genocide.

(With inputs from agencies)

Some 40% of solar farms in Britain, including those used in projects commissioned by government departments such as defence and coal, use panels from firms linked to forced labour camps in China's Xinjiang, a UK paper has reported.

Some 40% of solar farms in Britain, including those used in projects commissioned by government departments such as defence and coal, use panels from firms linked to forced labour camps in China's Xinjiang, a UK paper has reported. Workers from the Uyghur minority in the region have reportedly been subjected to exploitative and abusive living and working conditions that may constitute arbitrary detention, human trafficking, forced labour and enslavement by the use of forced labour. Findings gathered by a UN working group on Business and Human Rights had stated that "hundreds of thousands of members of the Uyghur minority have been held in 're-education' facilities" and that "many have also reportedly been forcibly transferred to work in factories in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region and other Chinese provinces". According to a new report from The Guardian, which named Jinko Solar, JA Solar and Trina Solar as firms benefiting from forced labour in the Chinese region. Those firms are some of the biggest manufacturers of solar panels in the world, but recent research shows that they could be leveraging forced labour from the more than one million men and women from the Muslim Uyghur community that have been interned in camps in the Xinjiang region. As per The Guardian's report, confidential industry data suggests that up to 40% of the UK’s solar farms were built using panels manufactured by China’s biggest solar panel companies, including Jinko Solar, JA Solar and Trina Solar. These firms have been named in a recent report on the internment of more than 1 million men and women from the Muslim Uyghur community, in what UK MPs on Thursday voted to describe as genocide. (With inputs from agencies)

'40% of UK solar farms use panels from firms linked to Xinjiang forced labour camps'

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British Army used solar panels manufactured by forced labour in China: Report

'40% of UK solar farms use panels from firms linked to Xinjiang forced labour camps'