Prince’s Trust refuses Huawei donations

The Prince’s Trust has announced that it will no longer accept donations from a Chinese technology giant in response to mounting concerns about cyberespionage.

The youth charity founded by the Prince of Wales is freezing out Huawei after it was claimed that its hardware could be used to spy on the West.

A trust spokesman said: ‘‘At present we are not accepting new donations from Huawei in light of public concerns. Future donations will continue to be reviewed by our ethical fundraising committee.’’

The trust, which helped 56,000 young people last year, said that its activities would not be affected by ditching Huawei. Since 2007 it has received £490,000 (NZ$950,000) from the company.

The charity has become the latest organisation to sever ties with the company, the world’s largest maker of equipment for telecoms networks.

It is also the second largest smartphone manufacturer after Samsung and makes hardware that runs broadband and mobile phone systems.

Oxford University last week also turned its back on Huawei, citing ‘‘public concerns’’. Intelligence officials have warned that using its technology could leave networks exposed to infiltration by the Chinese secret services.

The company was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, 74, a former People’s Liberation Army soldier.

Based in Shenzhen, it employs 180,000 staff globally and made a US$7.3 billion (NZ$10.8b) profit in 2017. It has 1500 workers in Britain, where it has committed itself to investing £3 billion over the next five years.

Huawei has denied that it is a tool of the Chinese secret services, insisting that it is owned by its workforce and has no ties to the state. In a rare interview this month Ren said that the company had ‘‘never received any request from any government to provide improper information’’.

The reclusive billionaire went public after his daughter, a senior executive at Huawei, was arrested at Vancouver airport last month on a US warrant.