UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is understood to have bowed to pressure from rebel Conservative MPs and drawn up plans to reduce the involvement of Chinese technology company Huawei in the UK 5G network to zero by 2023, reports The Guardian.
The Prime Minister had previously given Huawei the green-light to help build the county's 5G network infrastructure, limiting its share to 35 percent. However, he was facing a defeat on the proposals in the House of Commons, with 50 Conservative MPs understood to be prepared to rebel and vote against the government. The change of heart comes amid growing geo-political tension with China in the wake of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
According to the report, the government has ordered the National Cyber Security Agency to conduct a review of Huawei and the related security risks. This is expected to conclude that the new US sanctions against Huawei coming into effect in September will make it impossible to use the Chinese company’s technology as planned for 5G networks.
Under the new sanctions announced earlier in May, Huawei will no longer have access to US semiconductors and software to build 5G equipment, forcing it to source alternatives, most likely from China. Whitehall sources said the threatened US restrictions meant that any review would almost certainly say that Huawei posed a security risk. A particular concern was that Huawei would become reliant on unfamiliar and untested components, which could be exploited.
