US officials 'issue dossier on Huawei to Downing Street highlighting concerns over 5G network involvement'

Huawei could be involved in the UK's 5G network
REUTERS
Jacob Jarvis14 January 2020
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

US officials have issued Downing Street a dossier of information raising concerns over Huawei in a bid to stop the Chinese firm's potential involvement in the UK's 5G network, it has been reported.

Officials from both countries met alongside representatives from the telecoms industry on Monday, ahead of the Government's decision on whether to deploy technology from the company.

The United States is trying to persuade Britain not to use Huawei's equipment over what Washington says are security risks.

Technical information was put forward in the talks as Washington highlighted security risks, both the Guardian and Financial Times report.

Warning: The US has urged the UK to not allow Huawei to help with the 5G infrastructure
Getty

Huawei equipment could be used in some "non-core" parts of the network it has been reported previously, with a final decision due later in January.

The Financial Times reports that it is thought Boris Johnson appears inclined to permit such involvement from the Chinese tech firm.

Officials from the US said such involvement from Huawei would be “nothing short of madness”, the Guardian reports.

Huawei has plans to help build the UK's 5G network, the latest high-speed generation of cellular mobile communications
Getty

Mr Johnson's spokesman, speaking ahead of the meeting, said: "The security and resilience of the UK's telecoms network is of paramount importance.

"We have strict controls for how Huawei equipment is currently deployed in the UK.

"The government is undertaking a comprehensive review to ensure the security and resilience of 5G and fibre in the UK."

The meeting came following Tory MP Bob Seely's call for the Foreign Affairs Committee to open an immediate investigation into Huawei's suitability for use in Britain's 5G network.

Bob Seely said Huawei "to all intents and purposes is part of the Chinese state" and its involvement would "effectively to allow China and its agencies access to our network"

Foreign Office minister Andrew Stephenson said a final decision will be "taken in due course".

He added: "The Government will consider the full range of risks when making this decision."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT