Experts have condemned the SNP for being ‘enormously naïve’ for demanding a controversial renewables project by a Chinese developer should be allowed to go ahead.

First Minister John Swinney urged Andy Burnham to overrule an earlier decision to block Ming Yang’s proposed wind turbine factory at Ardersier, near Inverness.

The £1.5billion plans were deemed a risk to national security resulting in the UK Government pulling the plug on the offshore hub in March, with the Holyrood administration accusing Westminster of being ‘anti-Scottish’.

But earlier this week, Mr Swinney told the Prime Minister to re-examine the case – apparently dismissing the briefing documents he’d been given detailing concerns around national security.

And on Thursday, his Energy Minister Stephen Gethins was accused of another attempt to downplay the risks associated with the Chinese firm.

He defended the SNP leader’s call for the UK Government to reconsider its decision to block the Ming Yang development claiming it would have to be a ‘profound threat’ to justify the move, adding China is allowed to invest elsewhere in the UK.

Mr Gethins also suggested the briefing notes handed to Mr Swinney clearly did not convince the First Minister the project should be scrapped.

But his comments came under fire from Ian Williams, a former Asian correspondent and author of the book ‘Vampire State’ about the Chinese economy, who warned of the risks of espionage and sabotage of Britain’s electricity grid.

Energy Minister Stephen Gethins was accused of another attempt to downplay the risks associated with the project

First Minister John Swinney has urged Andy Burnham to give the project the green light

Experts have condemned the SNP for being ‘enormously naïve’ for demanding a controversial renewables project go ahead

Mr Williams said: ‘I was a little shocked to listen to Stephen Gethins because he seemed to be rather surprisingly and shockingly dismissive of the national security issue, and he’s wrong to say that our partners in Europe are embracing Chinese technology because they are actually increasingly wary of it and a big German project has recently rejected Ming Yang for concerns of cyber security.

‘The Chinese know the constitutional faultlines in the UK, they have been lobbying the Scottish Government very hard, we saw that when a number of freedom of information requests emerged towards the end of last year the extent of his contacts between John Swinney and his ministers and the company.’

He said there are ‘extremely serious risks’ of embracing this technology and criticised Mr Gethins for describing these as ‘inanimate pieces of metal’ when they are actually smart interconnected devices, and insisted that ‘the risks in terms of espionage, surveillance, sabotage are enormous’.

He added: ‘The risk is incredibly profound and to open the doors to this sort of technology, to effectively hand over a decarbonised grid to the control of the Chinese Communist Party, is staggering and I think it is enormously naïve to dismiss these sorts of national security issues.’

The biggest risks are sabotage or surveillance of the national grid or espionage to map critical infrastructure while a dependence on a Chinese firm would be ‘extremely dangerous’, he said.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast, Mr Gethins said national security is ‘of paramount importance’ but insisted that ‘the First Minister is right to ask about this’ because the project would create 1,500 jobs.

Asked if he had no concern about the security impact, he said: ‘It is fine to have concerns but 1,500 jobs being lost in the Highlands is a massive impact, so it must be something really quite a profound threat.

‘If it is such a profound threat then it is something we need to be mindful of.’

On whether Mr Swinney does not accept it is a profound threat following his security briefing, Mr Gethins said: ‘That is clearly the case because John Swinney is pushing for 1,500 jobs.

‘I have not seen that advice, I’m the energy minister but I don’t get to see that advice. But look from my experience at Westminster (as an MP) this has to be something pretty profound. We are seeing investments from China across the UK.’

Conservative MP Andrew Bowie, the shadow energy secretary, said: ‘The SNP need to stop playing party politics over this serious situation and listen to the experts.

‘Stephen Gethins effectively dismissed concerns around national security because he and John Swinney are desperate to get the UK Labour government to U-turn and score some quick headlines.

‘That is the exact opposite attitude nationalist ministers should be taking when there are serious reservations about what Chinese involvement in this project could mean.’

Ming Yang’s UK chief executive Aman Wang said: ‘We were disappointed by the Government’s decision in March.

‘We fully respect the Government’s duty to protect national security and have always been clear that we will meet the requirements the UK sets.

‘Our proposed investment at Ardersier would bring £1.5 billion of investment and up to 1,500 direct jobs, with up to 8,000 more in the supply chain.

‘We are committed to supporting the growth in every postcode that this Government wants to see, to reindustrialisation and to lowering energy bills.’

A UK Government spokesman said: ‘After careful consideration the Government concluded that there are national security risks associated with the use of Ming Yang wind turbines in UK offshore wind projects.’