US congressmen send letter to MPs warning Britain of the ‘catastrophic cost’ of allowing Chinese firm Huawei to build the UK’s 5G networks
- US congressmen said Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s 5G ‘may evaporate’
- Told MPs China’s role in the network would disappear ‘due to long-term costs of monitoring’
- They urged MPs to ‘exhaust all opportunities to reject or amend the legislation’
- Their ‘willingness’ to be open to the Chinese will ‘frustrate intelligence sharing’
- The letter was sent to the Commons Defence Select Committee in London
MPs have been warned of the ‘catastrophic cost’ of allowing Chinese tech firm Huawei to build our 5G networks in an unprecedented letter from 42 US congressmen.
The letter, sent to the Commons Defence Select Committee, warns: ‘The Government and private industry in China work together to expand the influence of the ruling Communist Party. Huawei is no exception to this strategy. Any short-term financial savings stemming from Huawei involvement in the UK’s 5G network may evaporate due to long-term costs of monitoring.’
US congressmen urged the UK to ‘exhaust all opportunities to reject or amend the legislation’ working with Chinese firm Huawei (pictured). In a letter to the Commons Defence Select Committee, they warned: ‘The UK’s willingness to unlock and open the door to the Chinese government will certainly frustrate intelligence sharing activities between our countries’
And in a stark warning, they added: ‘The UK’s willingness to unlock and open the door to the Chinese government will certainly frustrate intelligence sharing activities between our countries. We strongly urge you to exhaust all opportunities to reject or amend the legislation.’
The US House of Representatives, of which the politicians are members, will have a key say in any trade deal signed with Britain, risking the Huawei row overshadowing talks.
Boris Johnson is facing his first major Tory backlash after giving the firm the green light for a limited role in British networks.
Boris Johnson (pictured with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo where they discussed the role of Huawei on January 30) is insisting that the firm supply no more than 35 per cent of ‘non-core’ equipment like antennae, but furious backbenchers want that cap lowered
The Prime Minister is insisting that the firm supply no more than 35 per cent of ‘non-core’ equipment like antennae, but furious backbenchers want that cap lowered and former Cabinet Minister David Davis has called for a ban on Huawei involvement.
Meanwhile, outgoing Defence Committee chairman Julian Lewis has sought assurances over the safeguards required after warning the telecoms company is ‘intimately linked with the Chinese Communist state and its deeply hostile intelligence agencies’.
Western firms have been unable to compete with Huawei on 5G in either cost of technical advancement, leaving Mr Johnson to argue his pledges for super-fast broadband for all can only be met by the firm.
Huawei denies all espionage allegations.
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