Hope there’s no leaks on board!
Hunt’s on waves as ministers told to hand over phones for Huawei probe
MINISTERS were ordered to hand over their phones yesterday as the hunt intensified for the Cabinet mole who leaked secret discussions about Chinese telecoms firm Huawei.
A senior Whitehall source said Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill had ‘stepped up’ the leak inquiry after all the ministers at last week’s meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) denied involvement.
Officials were authorised to ask ministers and their special advisers to hand over their phones in the hope of uncovering who leaked controversial discussions about Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s 5G network.
Phone records will be examined to see who ministers and their officials contacted in the hours after last Tuesday’s NSC meeting, details of which were leaked that evening. Sir Mark
‘They took oaths of loyalty’
will then consider whether there is sufficient evidence to call in the police. Officials declined to say whether Theresa May would be asked to hand over her phone.
Ministers at the meeting included Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who was yesterday in Senegal visiting members of 42 Commando Royal Marines, who are training local special forces to help protect British oil and gas installations from piracy.
Last week’s leak sparked a major row, with MPs warning that Huawei could not be trusted to play a role in the sensitive 5G network.
One option discussed was to allow the Chinese firm to participate in ‘non- core’ aspects of the network, where access to sensitive material could be contained. But even this has alarmed allies, including the United States, which is pushing for a total ban. No final decision has been taken.
A US cyber-security chief said last night Britain could be frozen out by American spies if it used Huawei technology in its 5G mobile network. Robert Strayer said allowing Huawei to build even part of the network would be like handing China a ‘loaded gun’ – and the US would have to ‘evaluate’ what it shares with any country that takes such an ‘unacceptable risk’.
But Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said it was ‘wrong’ to demand ministers hand over their phones unless there was evidence to suggest they were involved. He added: ‘I don’t think our senior political figures should be treated in this way. They are privy counsellors. They have taken oaths of loyalty to the Queen.’
A criminal inquiry into the leak could lead to a two-year prison sentence under the Official Secrets Act.
Downing Street yesterday refused to confirm that a leak inquiry was even under way.