Row over PM’s decision to give Chinese firm role in British 5G network

‌Boris Johnson has given Huawei the green light to work on the UK’s 5G infrastructure, despite sustained pressure from the US to ban the company. The PM is accused of ignoring warning from allies about opening the door to the Chinese tech giant. The National Security Council, in a meeting chaired by Mr Johnson, decided that ‘high-risk vendors’ should be permitted to play a peripheral role in the network. Much of the criticism has come from within Mr Johnson’s party. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said that ‘even Vietnam does not want Huawei’. Tom Tugendhat MP said there were ‘many unanswered questions’. Labour pointed the finger at the Government for having ‘failed to invest in home-grown alternatives to Huawei’ following the announcement.

‌

Critics say allowing Huawei a role in the UK’s 5G network poses a security threat and opens a ‘back door’ for spying on communications. The company has close links to the Chinese government and there are fears allowing it to work on national telecoms equipment could allow Beijing to spy on sensitive government communications. The PM argues Huawei will be excluded from ‘sensitive’ areas on the network.