Security officials to review Huawei’s involvement in 5G
US sanctions on Chinese technology giant prompt Government to investigate risks to UK’S network
SECURITY officials have launched a review of Huawei’s involvement in 5G in the wake of US sanctions.
Following the recent announcement that America would place additional laws on the telecommunications giant, the UK Government confirmed that the
National Cyber Security Centre was “looking carefully at any impact they could have to the UK’S networks”.
It comes after this newspaper revealed that Boris Johnson intended to reduce Huawei’s involvement in Britain’s 5G network in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Prime Minister has instructed officials to draw up plans that would reduce China’s involvement in the UK’S infrastructure to zero by 2023.
In Prime Minister’s Questions last week, Mr Johnson hinted that greater measures would be taken to tackle hostile countries like Russia and China to protect the UK’S technological base.
He said it was “absolutely right to be concerned about the buying up of UK technology by countries that may have ulterior motives”, and added that the Government was “bringing forward measures to make sure we protect our technological base”.
However, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, said that “this review has one purpose: how to get Huawei out of the system and not whether we should”.
“Huawei has to be taken out of our systems,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“We can no longer be dependent on an untrusted vendor in a country that has an appalling record of theft on intellectual property and human rights. We shouldn’t be putting our most vital communications strategy in their hands.”
Meanwhile, Bob Seely, the Tory MP for the Isle of Wight, who is one of 59 MPS in a group which has called on the Government to cut ties with Huawei, said: “We are keen to work with the Government to find a new position but it has to be without Huawei in our communications network.
“To have a high-risk vendor in our communications system is a bizarre concept and a concerning thing.”
Mr Johnson is due to visit the US for the G7 summit next month in what will be his first trip abroad since the coronavirus crisis.
A spokesman for the Government said: “The security and resilience of our networks is of paramount importance. Following the US announcement of additional sanctions against Huawei, the National Cyber Security Centre is looking carefully at any impact they could have to the UK.”
‘This review has one purpose: how to get Huawei out of the system and not whether we should’
is a member of the Independent
Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and we subscribe to its Editors’ Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content, please visit www.telegraph.co.uk/ editorialcomplaints or write to ‘Editorial Complaints’ at our postal address (see below). If you are not satisfied with our response, you may appeal to IPSO at www.ipso.co.uk.