US government makes last-ditch pitch to persuade UK to ban Huawei from its 5G networks

No way the UK can mitigate the risks arising from a network that includes Huawei equipment, US security officials warn

Officials from the US National Security Agency have warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson that it would be "madness" to allow the use of Huawei networking equipment in the UK's 5G networks.

In a new dossier of intelligence presented to British officials on Monday, the US challenged an earlier claim made by UK technical experts that it was possible to mitigate the risks arising from use of Huawei technology in 5G networks.

The move by the Trump administration is a last-ditch effort to persuade the British government against allowing even limited participation by Huawei in the UK's 5G networks. A final decision is expected next week.

It would be like putting Russia in charge of anti-doping of world athletes

According to various media reports, Johnson is set to approve the use of Huawei technology in 5G networks, although its involvement will be "very limited" - most likely non-core components, such as antennas and mobile phone masts.

The US delegation that arrived in London on Monday comprises of six senior officials, including Matt Pottinger, deputy national security adviser; Robert Blair, representative for international telecoms policy; and Christopher Ford, assistant secretary of state for international security and non-proliferation.

According to Financial Times, the delegation cautioned British officials that there is no way that the UK can mitigate the risks arising from a network that includes equipment supplied by the Chinese firms.

One US representative said it "it would be like putting Russia in charge of anti-doping of world athletes".

Congress has made it clear they will want an evaluation of our intelligence sharing

US officials argued that the effects of the leap to 5G technology are not very well understood so far, and the safest solution would be to keep the Chinese firm entirely out of 5G networks.

British mobile carriers, however, don't want a complete ban on Huawei. They have warned earlier that banning Huawei in 5G would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and delay the launch of 5G technology across the country.

Andrew Parker, the chief of British Security Service MI5, also told the Financial Times over the weekend that there was "no reason" to believe that allowing Huawei would harm intelligence sharing with the US.

A senior US official, however, rejected that assertion. "Congress has made it clear they will want an evaluation of our intelligence sharing," the official said.

The US delegation further argued that Chinese spies, who worked for Chinese People's Liberation Army, were also working simultaneously for Huawei, and that the company had also supported the "re-education camps" - internment camps - in which more than one million Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang are currently detained.