Johnson hints at 5G Huawei ban as president brands firm ‘dangerous’
BORIS JOHNSON gave the clearest indication yet that he would ban Huawei from Britain’s 5G network if the Conservatives won the election.
The Prime Minister said the “paramount” factor in deciding whether to allow the Chinese telecoms giant access to the UK would be Britain’s intelligence-sharing agreement with its “five eyes” partners, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
It came after Donald Trump tackled Mr Johnson over Huawei during a hastily arranged meeting in No10 ahead of yesterday’s Nato summit.
The US president said Huawei was a “security danger” and that “everybody I have spoken to” was following his lead in banning the firm from 5G infrastructure – a claim disputed by Italy and Germany.
Downing Street insisted no decision had been taken about any role Huawei might play in Britain’s 5G network but that a decision would have to be made “within two months” of the election.
Earlier this year The Daily Telegraph disclosed that Theresa May was considering allowing Huawei to help build “non-core” parts of the network, raising concerns among members of the National Security Council.
Nicky Morgan, the Culture Secretary, said last month that a decision over Huawei’s suitability had been postponed until after the election, which Mr Johnson had hoped would help avoid a row with Mr Trump.
However, the US president insisted on raising Huawei with Mr Johnson on Tuesday and said at the Nato summit: “I do think it is a security risk, a security danger. I spoke to Italy, they look like they are not going to go forward with that ... Everybody I have spoken to is not going forward, but how many countries can I speak to? Am I going to call up and speak to the whole world? We are building it, we have started, but we are not using Huawei.”
Asked whether he had promised Mr Trump anything, Mr Johnson said: “I don’t want this country to be unnecessarily hostile to investment from overseas. On the other hand, we cannot prejudice our Whitehall national security interest nor can we prejudice our ability to cooperate with other five eyes security partners and that will be the key criterion that informs our decision about Huawei.
He added: “We’re going to make a decision, and we’re going to make it based on the paramount importance of protecting our critical national infrastructure and also protecting our five eyes relationships.”
Giuseppe Conte, the Italian prime minister, contradicted Mr Trump, saying that he had not discussed Huawei with the president. He said: “We didn’t address the issue, which remains tied to our own regulations.”
Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, also said he had given no guarantees to Mr Trump, and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has fought to keep a way open for Huawei to have a 5G role in her country.
A statement from the 29 Nato member states included a commitment “to ensuring the security of our communications, including 5G, recognising the need to rely on secure and resilient systems”, that was understood to have been added at Mr Trump’s request.
Western governments’ concerns over Huawei stem from the fact that under Chinese law any company can be compelled to cooperate with state security agencies, raising fears that it could be used as a means of spying.
A Huawei spokesman said the firm was “confident the UK ... will continue to take an objective, evidence-based approach to cyber security”.
Mr Johnson was asked if he intended to bring back British jihadists who fought in Syria, following criticism from Mr Trump about other countries expecting the US to deal with them.
He said: “One of the difficulties we have in taking people back is that our legal systems make it very, very difficult for us to secure convictions and if people break the law to fight in terrorist organisations then they really have to take the consequences.”