Boris to give Huawei ‘limited’ 5G role

BORIS Johnson is poised to allow Chinese firm Huawei a limited role in Britain’s 5G network, despite warnings it will lead to a rift with Donald Trump.

Government sources said the Prime Minister’s National Security Council is set to give the green light to Huawei when it meets at the end of this month.

It follows private warnings from officials that banning the controversial firm could delay the rollout of 5G – the fifth generation of mobile phone technology – by two years and lead to higher prices. The Trump administration has threatened to limit security co-operation over the issue.

The US is pushing for a blanket ban on Huawei, arguing that the company, which has close links to the Chinese state, cannot be trusted to play a role in sensitive infrastructure. But Mr Johnson is said to be ‘comfortable’ with allowing Huawei a limited role – excluding it from contracts involving the most sensitive parts of the network – following assurances from British security officials.

One Whitehall source said: ‘The security world does not endorse the need for a blanket ban on Huawei. They are not naive – they are well aware of the risks – but they believe they can be contained.’

Another source said: ‘From a security point of view the risk is manageable.

‘ The only question is whether you want to risk a row with Trump. But if you go down the route of a ban then you are telling consumers they will have to wait longer for a service available in other parts of the world and pay more in their monthly bills when they finally get it.’