‘untrusted technology’
TLTP
LONDON
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s most senior security advisers will meet on Tuesday to decide on Huawei Technologies Co’s future in the UK, as officials draw up plans to cut the company out of fifth generation mobile networks.
The National Security Council is due to assess the findings of a review which concluded new U.S. sanctions mean Huawei will have to use untrusted technology, making 5G security risks impossible to control.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has promised to update Parliament on the final decision and could make a statement in the House of Commons immediately after the NSC meeting on July 14.
“We have to protect our critical national infrastructure,” Johnson said in a Facebook question-and-answer session produced by his office on Friday.
“There is a particular issue that is now caused by the U.S. sanctions on the chips. We’ll have to find a way of addressing that.”
A crackdown on Huawei would further escalate tensions between London and Beijing, which are already under strain over China’s new security law for Hong Kong and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Even though China has warned Johnson of repercussions, the British government is planning to speed up the removal of Huawei’s kit from emerging networks. Officials have started work on a blueprint to start phasing out the company’s equipment from 5G as soon as this year. The Daily Telegraph reported Dowden is set to announce a 2025 deadline to strip Huawei from the network.
If the NSC confirms this course of action, it would mark a reversal by Johnson’s administration, which in January cleared Huawei to participate in the UK’s 5G networks, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to ban the company.
Until now, Johnson has proposed to allow Huawei to play a part in the development of 5G, subject to strict conditions including a 35 percent cap on its involvement and a bar on its gear being used in parts of networks deemed sensitive. Ministers had said the U.K. needed diversity in its suppliers, and any risks involved in using Chinese equipment could be mitigated. TLTP
