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 https://www.ft.com/content/b4bbd218-16a2-11ea-8d73-6303645ac406 6park.com
 Boris Johnson toughens stance on Huawei after Trump lobbying
UK prime minister cites concern over security co-operation with allies 6park.com
Boris Johnson said the ‘key criterion’ would be whether the use of Huawei technology would compromise Britain’s ability to co-operate with the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand © Will Oliver/Bloomberg
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George Parker, Helen Warrell and Nic Fildes in London 12 HOURS AGO Print this page36
Boris Johnson vowed not to involve Huawei in Britain’s 5G telecommunications networks if it compromised the country’s ability to work with close security allies, including the US, after he was lobbied on the issue by Donald Trump. 6park.com
The US president said at a Nato summit outside London that he believed the involvement of the Chinese telecoms company posed “a security danger”, adding that he had raised the issue with a number of countries. 6park.com
“I spoke to Italy and they look like they are not going to go forward with that,” he said. “I spoke to other countries, they are not going to go forward. Everybody I’ve spoken to is not going to go forward.” 6park.com
However, Giuseppe Conte, Italy’s prime minister, said “we did not address this issue” when asked about Mr Trump’s comments that Italy would not be allowing Huawei into its 5G networks, according to Ansa, the Italian national newswire. 6park.com
Despite assurances from UK intelligence chiefs that they can manage the risk from Huawei, US security and intelligence officials remain anxious about the threat posed by the Chinese group. 6park.com
At a private meeting on Tuesday the UK prime minister and Mr Trump discussed trade between the two countries and “a range of security issues — including the importance of both nations working together to ensure the security of our telecommunication networks and guard against untrusted providers”, according to the White House. 6park.com
Mr Johnson said the “key criterion” would be whether the use of Huawei technology would compromise Britain’s ability to co-operate with its so-called “five eyes” security partners: the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. He said this was “paramount”. 6park.com
“I don’t want this country to be unnecessarily hostile to investment from overseas but, on the other hand, we cannot prejudice our vital national security interests,” Mr Johnson said. 6park.com
Huawei could be involved in some “non core” parts of the UK network, but Mr Johnson is under heavy pressure from Washington to freeze out the Chinese company. A decision was postponed until after next week’s general election. 6park.com
UK security officials insist Huawei would not be used in any critical networks used for intelligence sharing, but US officials have previously said that information sharing would be compromised if Huawei equipment is present in any part of the network, not just the core. 6park.com
Nato’s summit declaration included a commitment on co-operating to protect telecoms infrastructure, an agreement the US delegation has been lobbying for. 6park.com
“Allies are . . . committed to ensuring the security of our communications, including 5G, recognising the need to rely on secure and resilient systems,” the text read. 6park.com
Huawei’s 5G equipment has been installed by all four of the UK’s mobile phone networks in the early stages of the rollout of the new wireless technology. 6park.com
Networks, including Vodafone, have argued that a move to ban the Chinese company’s 5G equipment would significantly slow down the upgrade to 5G services across the country as old equipment would need to be stripped out and replaced to work with the new wireless technology. 6park.com
A Huawei spokesperson said: “We’re confident the UK government will continue to take an objective, evidence-based approach to cyber security. Our customers trust us because we supply the kind of secure, resilient systems called for by the Nato Declaration and will continue working with them to build innovative new networks”. 6park.com
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Huawei’s dominance in 5G should be challenged
Mr Johnson held talks with Mr Trump in Downing Street on Tuesday night, in spite of previous suggestions from Tory officials that the two leaders would not hold any meetings. 6park.com
There was huge relief in Downing Street that the US president cancelled a planned press conference after the Nato summit. Mr Johnson was anxious to avoid any presidential endorsement because of Mr Trump’s unpopularity in the UK. 6park.com
The US president may have faced awkward questions about video footage of Nato leaders, including Mr Johnson, French president Emmanuel Macron, Canadian premier Justin Trudeau and Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, apparently having a jokey conversation about Mr Trump at a Buckingham Palace reception on Tuesday night. 6park.com
At one point in the conversation, picked up by a microphone, Mr Trudeau was heard saying: “He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top.” Mr Trump held a press conference on Tuesday. 6park.com
But asked if was having a laugh at Mr Trump’s expense, Mr Johnson said: “That’s complete nonsense. I don’t know where that’s come from.”