Prime Minister gives Huawei limited role despite US warnings
BORIS Johnson has paved the way for China’s Huawei to have a limited role in the UK’s 5G network in a move that will set up a diplomatic clash with the US.
The National Security Council, chaired by the Prime Minister in Downing Street yesterday, decided that “high-risk vendors” should be permitted to play a peripheral role in the network.
However, advice issued to telecoms operators by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said such vendors should be barred from all safety-related and critical networks.
Such firms will be excluded from security-critical “core” functions and sensitive geographic locations, such as nuclear sites and military bases.
High-risk companies will also have their presence limited to no more than 35% in the periphery of the network, known as the access network, which connects devices and equipment to mobile phone masts.
The decision sets up the Prime Minister for a clash with many Tory MPs as well as the US, with Donald Trump’s administration having lobbied against the UK allowing Huawei access.
As it takes on China in a trade war, the US warned that British sovereignty would be put at risk by the move. It also issued threats over the impact on intelligence-sharing.
Huawei vice-president Victor Zhang welcomed the UK’s decision to allow the firm, which has close links to the Chinese state, limited access.
“Huawei is reassured by the UK Government’s confirmation that we can continue working with our customers to keep the 5G roll-out on track,” he said.
“This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure.”
Culture Secretary Baroness Morgan vowed that upgrades would “not be at the expense of our national security”. “The Government has reviewed the supply chain for telecoms networks and concluded that it is necessary to have tight restrictions on the presence of high-risk vendors,” she said.
“This is a UK-specific solution for UK-specific reasons and the decision deals with the challenges we face right now.
“It not only paves the way for secure and resilient networks with our sovereignty over data protected, but it also builds on our strategy to develop a diversity of suppliers.
“We can now move forward and seize the huge opportunities of 21st century technology.”
NCSC chief executive Ciaran Martin said the guidance would ensure the UK had a “very strong, practical and technically sound framework for digital security in the years ahead”.
“High-risk vendors have never been — and never will be — in our most sensitive networks,” he added.
“Taken together, these measures add up to a very strong framework for digital security.”
In its evaluation, the NCSC said that without government intervention, commercial factors could cause the UK to become “nationally dependent” on Huawei within three years, which would be a “significant national security risk”.