Theresa May hands Chinese firm Huawei 5G contract green light despite security fears
Other countries are keeping Huawei at arm's length over security concerns
THERESA May risks a fresh Cabinet row after giving a Chinese tech giant the green light to supply part of Britain’s 5G network.
Sources claim the National Security Council (NSC) chaired by the PM yesterday agreed Beijing-owned Huawei can have limited access to help build antennae and other “non core” infrastructure.
It comes after growing warnings over Huawei’s involvement.
The US has banned Huawei from government networks and urged the UK and other intelligence partners such as Australia to do the same.
Chinese companies are legally obliged to cooperate with Beijing’s state intelligence agencies.
The Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and Home Secretary Sajid Javid were among those to raise concerns about Huawei during the NSC meeting.
But insiders insisted last night that the PM was only likely to have given the go-ahead after advice of her top security advisers.
She infuriated Beijing shortly after becoming PM in 2016 by demanding checks on Chinese investment in the Hinckley Point nuclear power plant.
Sources in December claimed Gavin Williamson had “grave concerns” about allowing Huawei any role in the 5G network. On a trip to Ukraine he said Britain had to recognise that the Chinese state “does sometimes act in a malign way”.
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Chancellor Philip Hammond is due to make a flying visit to China today to back the nation’s Belt and Road international investment programme.
Jeremy Fleming - the head of GCHQ - is today separately due to warn that rogue states are threatening the British way of life with hacking and cyber attacks. He will say: “It brings unprecedented challenges for policy makers as we seek to protect our citizens, judicial systems, businesses - and even societal norms.”
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