John Spellar MP accuses ministers of complacency over Huawei 5G role
A Black Country MP has slammed "Government complacency" for allowing Chinese firm Huawei to take a role in Britain’s 5G network.
Warley MP John Spellar said that rather than welcome the technology giant, ministers should be "taking them to the World Trade Organisation" so the firm can be held to account.
Mr Spellar spoke during a subcommittee debate on 5G security, which was set up last month to examine the challenges and risks of the UK’s 5G rollout.
It comes after the UK’s decision in January to allow telecommunication firms to use Huawei technology in the non-core parts of the country’s network.
The move prompted concerns among MPs from all sides of the political divide, with many considering the firm to be a security threat.
Mr Spellar said it was a paradox that Britain had declared Huawei to be "high risk" yet had allowed the firm to bid for a role in the 5G network.
He accused the Government of complacency and questioned how far ahead of its competitors the firm was, given that some of its equipment and practices had been described as "shoddy".
Subsidised
André Pienaar, managing partner of cybersecurity investment firm C5 capital, told the committee that Huawei had been able to lead the market due to its ability to sell networks at "a ridiculously low price point".
He said this was possible due to the firm's operations being heavily subsidised by the Chinese government.
His comments prompted Mr Spellar to say that Huawei was "probably in breach of dumping regulations by putting equipment cheaply on the market".
He said that instead of welcoming the firm, the Government should consider taking it to the WTO so it can be held to account.
Emily Taylor, CEO of cyber intelligence consultancy Oxford Information Labs, told the committee it was "feasible and plausible" to keep a high-risk vendor such as Huawei out of the "brains" of the UK's 5G network.
Huawei saw a 19 per cent growth in revenue in 2019. It has signed 90 commercial contracts for 5G around the world, and has shipped more than 600,000 base stations.
The US has banned Huawei technology from its networks, saying it is a security threat.
