The U.S. urged the UK not to allow Huawei to build any part of its 5G network on Tuesday (via BBC News). A delegation presented UK officials with a dossier it said outlined the security risks posed by the Chinese firm.
Debate Rages Over Huawei Involvement in UK 5G Network
The UK government has not made a final decision on who will build the 5G network. It will make that decision in the near future. However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted he will not risk UK security by allowing Huawei network access. A government spokesman said:
The security and resilience of the UK’s telecoms networks is of paramount importance.
[5G Rollout – Here’s Where We Are]
Furthermore, his party colleague, Conservative lawmaker Tom Tugendhat, has long voiced his opposition to the Chinese firm’s involvement. Speaking on Sky News on Wednesday, Mr. Tugendhat, who chairs the powerful House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said:
You can individually guard every chicken, but isn’t it better not let the fox into the hen house in the first place?
Huawei, however, rejects these claims. In a statement given to TMO, Victor Zhang, Vice President of Huawei, said:
We are confident that the UK Government will make a decision based upon evidence, as opposed to unsubstantiated allegations. Two UK parliamentary committees concluded there is no technical reason to ban us from supplying 5G equipment and this week the Head of MI5 said, there is ‘no reason to think’ the UK’s intelligence-sharing relationship with the US would be harmed if Britain continued to use Huawei technology.