Although Whitehall minister Matt Warman’s vow to ultimately kick Huawei out of Britain’s phone networks struck a chord with rebel backbenchers, who had earlier called on Downing Street to rethink the government’s favourable stance on the telecoms giant, his words were deemed to be insufficient.
“We want to get to a position where we do not have to use a high-risk vendor in the network at all", Warman stated during a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith waded in asking Warman directly whether it now constituted “government policy to drive to 0% involvement by Huawei and other non-secure vendors” – the rebel backbenchers’ top demand addressed to Boris Johnson.
Warman, however, dug in his heels, saying:
“I appreciate that he would like me to set out a timetable and I can’t do that today", the minister noted decisively.
Although the 30-strong backbencher group argued that the clarification was not enough because Warman didn’t specify the time frame to axe the Chinese company from the market, former minister Owen Paterson admitted Warman “has so nearly got the government to the right position".
“He’s admitted that Huawei is high-risk. He’s admitted it’s the government intention to get to no high-risk vendors. He’s admitted he listens to our allies. They’re overwhelmingly against this. Australia, France, the United States all said they have taken advice", the ex-minister went on.
According to rebel sources, after the meeting, Warman reportedly tried to defend the Huawei policy, with the backbenchers saying they would proceed with their campaign when the demand for Johnson to cut Huawei’s participation in Britain’s market is put to a vote in the Commons.
If the government doesn’t rethink its stance, the Tories warned, a free trade deal with the US, which has warned its allies multiple times against dealing with Huawei on national security grounds, will be at risk:
“It seems to many that the UK is too concerned about upsetting the Chinese and in continuing to use Huawei we are losing our friends and allies. In the week we launched our hopes for a free trade deal with the USA, our continuing determination to use Huawei now, as President Trump makes clear, puts that trade deal at risk", Duncan Smith wrote for telegraph.co.uk.
Echoes from Boris Johnson's Huawei Move
According to the Financial Times, the Tories wrote an open letter to Westminster back in February, urging Boris Johnson to put a damper on what they referred to as “untrusted, high-risk vendors", referencing the latter's move to allow Huawei’s limited (up to 35 percent) involvement in the UK’s 5G network.
The US government has long accused Huawei, the world's leader in 3G and 4G tech and a top 5G provider for now, of posing a security threat citing alleged “back doors” in its technologies that the Chinese authorities may purportedly cash in on – a claim Beijing that has flatly denied.
In May, Washington put the Chinese titan on a black list, barring US companies from dealing with Huawei and requiring them to apply for a special license to continue business contacts with the Chinese manufacturer.
Last week, an unnamed senior official took a dig at Huawei branding it “the Mafia” and alleging it could go as far as blackmail British parliamentarians.
A Huawei spokesman instantly refuted the comment, dismissing it as “just crazy" and a “PR stunt", noting that likening Huawei to organised crime is “disingenuous".
Lack of Diversity in 5G Market
Huawei’s top management and the Chinese authorities have on more than one occasion denied the charges brought forward by the US, which has also been trying to exert pressure on allies not to deal with Huawei citing security risks.
Downing Street and Britain’s spy agencies for their part believe any risks can be managed, while, the British government says, the lack of diversity in the respective market renders it almost impossible to rule out Huawei's 5G kit.
Both Huawei and Beijing denied being linked to each other, with the tech company insisting that the equipment it uses is transparent and hides no “back doors” – something which critics have been welcomed to check for themselves.
