Parliamentary Defence Committee says there's evidence Huawei is colluding with Chinese government

Removal of Huawei equipment from UK infrastructure should be speeded up, report recommends

A report released by the House of Commons' Defence Committee on Thursday claims that there is clear evidence of collusion between Huawei and the Chinese government, and that the UK government should consider removal of all Huawei equipment from its 5G networks earlier than planned.

The Committee said that it supports Prime Minister's decision to remove all Huawei equipment by 2027, but added that new developments could demand speedier removal, potentially by 2025.

MPs advised the government to take all necessary steps to minimise delay and to also consider providing compensation to telecom companies if the 2027 deadline is moved forward.

"We must not surrender our national security for the sake of short-term technological development," Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Committee, said.

"The West must urgently unite to advance a counterweight to China's tech dominance," he added.

The Defence Committee based its findings on the testimony of a number of telecom industry insiders, academics and technical experts on 5G networks. Executives from the Chinese company were not asked to testify, although they appeared before a separate Committee hearing in July.

In its report, the Defence Committee cited a venture capitalist who claimed that Beijing had financed the Huawei's growth with some $75 billion over the past three years, enabling the Chinese firm to sell its equipment at "ridiculously low prices".

The report also accused Beijing of exerting pressure on the UK government to retain Huawei through both "covert and overt threats."

China has reportedly threatened to take retaliatory steps against British firms operating in China, including GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, BP, Jaguar Land Rover and Intercontinental Hotels.

Huawei rejected report's findings, saying they lack credibility.

A Huawei spokesman told Reuters that the report is based on "opinions rather than fact" and that Huawei expects British people to remember what it had done for the UK over the past 20 years.

The UK has been following in the footsteps of the USA in its increasingly harsh measures against Huawei, which China says has to do with commercial competition rather than security.

The US has long accused Huawei of aiding spying efforts by the Chinese government. It alleges that Huawei is controlled by Beijing and that its equipment could be used Chinese agencies to spy on western countries.

In May last year, the US Commerce Department put Huawei in its "Entity List," barring the company from doing any business with US companies without getting a special licence from the US government.

In August, the US government added 38 Huawei affiliates to its list of companies that are considered to pose threats to the national security, increasing the total number of such companies to 152.

Huawei's involvement in Britain's 5G networks created tensions between Washington DC and London until Boris Johnson announced decision to remove all Huawei equipment from networks by 2027.