Fears Northumberland's planned Cambois datacentre could be targeted by Putin-backed terrorists

An artist's impression of what the AI datacentre could look like
-Credit:Copyright Unknown


Councillors in Northumberland have raised fears that the county's planned £10 billion AI datacentre campus could make the area a target for terrorism. The site, at Cambois near Blyth, will be operated by American firm QTS.

It will provide the necessary computing power for new AI technology. Suggested users have included the likes of Google and Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram.

Speaking at Wednesday's meeting of the Ashington and Blyth Local Area Committee, Labour's Coun Caroline Ball questioned how the new site would be secured. She said: "There are new threats to the council that we have never had before. We are talking about global tech companies being based in Northumberland. When you have tech billionaires wanting all the power, at what point does Northumberland become a target?"

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Deputy leader Coun Richard Wearmouth said the issue had been discussed. However, he added that the protection of the site on this scale would be an issue for national government. Coun Wearmouth said: "Security is really very important for QTS and whoever does end up on that site. There are all sorts of different threats.

"Terrorism was something I raised the other week. It is not just extremist terrorism, it is also state-sponsored terrorism, thinking specifically of Vladimir Putin and about some of his threats.

"I have flagged that. In some respects, it is a national Government issue, the Government has to consider how it protects critical infrastructure.

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"We will have to think of that as a country. It's a very interesting topic, but one I'm confident that QTS have got to grips with, not least because it is so critical for their business."

The discussion comes in the week the Defence Secretary told MPs that a Royal Navy submarine was deployed to shadow a suspected Russian spy ship that was spotted in British waters. The incident prompted fears for undersea cables which carry electricity and internet links into the UK, although ministers admitted the vessel, known as the Yantar, "complied with international rules of navigation".