Huawei decision could worsen UK's relationship with Washington, MPs warn
Using Huawei's technology in Britain's 5G networks could harm its relationship with allies, MPs have warned, but said there were no "technological grounds" for the company to be banned.
Norman Lamb, who chairs the Science and Technology Committee, said ministers must take into account "geopolitical or ethical considerations" when deciding whether to allow Huawei's equipment to be used in its networks.
"The Government needs to consider whether the use of Huawei’s technology would jeopardise this country’s ongoing co-operation with our major allies," Mr Lamb said.
“Moreover, Huawei has been accused of supplying equipment in Western China that could be enabling serious human rights abuses. The evidence we heard during our evidence session did little to assure us that this is not the case."
However, whilst the committee did have some concerns, Mr Lamb said it had found "no evidence from our work to suggest that a complete exclusion of Huawei from the UK's telecommunications network would, from a technical point of view, constitute a proportionate response to the potential security threat posed by foreign suppliers".
It should not be allowed to be used in the core of the networks given it poses a different type of risk than other suppliers, Mr Lamb said. But, as long as restrictions are introduced on the company's access to highly sensitive elements and it makes improvements to its cyber security, there is no technological reason to exclude Huawei entirely.
Banning Huawei would delay the rollout of 5G across the UK by two or three years, network operators estimate.
The comments may be seen as a step forward by Huawei, coming after a damning report by British security officials in March suggested the company had "significant issues" with its equipment, and that there were "underlying defects" in its practices.
Mr Lamb said that telecommunications networks were "designed such that they are secure even if their individual components are not". He said mobile operators had expressed a similar view.
A spokesman for Huawei said the company was "reassured that the UK, unlike others, is taking an evidence based approach to network security".
"Huawei complies with the laws and regulations in all the markets where we operate," he said.
However, they are a sign of growing concern over whether the UK risks damaging its relationship with the US further, following revelations in The Sunday Telegraph that Donald Trump's administration was seeing the UK's position on Huawei as a deal-breaker over whether it would agree to a post-Brexit trade deal.
Britain has not yet issued clear guidance over whether mobile operators should be allowed to use Huawei equipment in their networks, although the UK's National Security Council gave the Chinese company the green light to be used in parts of the network in April.
The Science and Technology committee demanded that the Government publish the outcome of its review into whether to allow Huawei in the networks by the end of August.
However, there were some question marks over whether that date would have to be pushed back on Monday, as the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy launched a new parliamentary inquiry into 5G and the risks of buying equipment from foreign suppliers.
The inquiry, which is inviting written submissions by mid-September, would include things such as "the potential for international cooperation with like-minded countries and multinational organisations in sustaining key industrial sectors, such as telecoms".
"The Committee is holding an inquiry into the Government’s approach to sustaining access to ‘safe’ telecoms technology as a national security issue," it said.
Huawei is not the only telecoms equipment provider likely to face further scrutiny in the coming months, and Mr Lamb, in his letter to Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright, urged the Government to consider setting up similar monitoring centres for other providers such as Ericsson and Nokia.
He said "these vendors, unlike Huawei, are expected to be supplying equipment to be used in the 'core' of 5G networks".
As it stands, Mr Lamb, said it was difficult to compare the shortcomings in Huawei's cyber security compared to other companies.
