Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen
- Boris Johnson gives green light for Huawei 5G infrastructure role
- Johnson’s Huawei decision ‘major defeat’ for US, says Newt Gingrich
- Nearly 80% of Tory members oppose letting Huawei build 5G - survey
- Afternoon summary
What I want to do is to make the case going into that election that actually neither the status quo nor independence is the right way forward. And what we need is - whether you call it federalism or much more meaningful devolution - a different constitutional settlement. That’s the argument I want to make. I’m here to discuss that with colleagues.
Mark Warner, the US senator and the ranking Democrat on the senate intelligence committee, has put out this statement about the UK’s Huawei/5G decision.
While I am disappointed by the UK’s decision to continue allowing insecure vendors like Huawei into their network, the United States remains committed to working with the UK and other key allies to build more diverse and secure telecommunication options that provide competitive alternatives to Huawei. Working together must be our priority in the coming months.
From my colleague Dan Sabbagh
Looking like the US and UK are not going to fall out over British Huawei decision; feels like that Friday night Trump-Johnson phone call has smoothed over the difference of opinion between both countries. Both countries working together to develop alternatives to Huawei...
From my colleague Heather Stewart
NEW - deputy Labour leadership contender @RichardBurgon is proposing to "modernise" Labour, by writing the 2019 manifesto commitments to nationalisation of rail, mail and water into a new Clause IV, to "ensure this is permanently enshrined in our party's constitution."
Jonathan Djanogly, a Conservative, says if there is a security breach, Huawei should have to pay the cost of having its own equipment replaced.
Raab says that in those circumstances a criminal offence would have been committed, not just a breach of contract.
Richard Drax, a Conservative, says he is “baffled” by this decision. He says he does not think there is a distinction between core and periphery in 5G.
Raab says he does not agree. He says there is a difference.
Raab says there was a risk that banning Huawei could trigger trade retaliation. But that is not why this decision was taken, he says.
Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative, says he does not necessarily welcome the decision, but he understands it. He says the government should set up a review to see what lessons can be learnt.
Raab says this has been a failure of government, and of Western governments. He says the government has set out plans to ensure that it does not find itself in this position again.
President Trump has sent out his first tweets of the day. But he is not saying anything about Huawei (so far). Instead he is complaining about Fox News being biased against him ...
Really pathetic how @FoxNews is trying to be so politically correct by loading the airwaves with Democrats like Chris Van Hollen, the no name Senator from Maryland. He has been on forever playing up the Impeachment Hoax. Dems wouldn’t even give Fox their low ratings debates....
.....So, what the hell has happened to @FoxNews. Only I know! Chris Wallace and others should be on Fake News CNN or MSDNC. How’s Shep Smith doing? Watch, this will be the beginning of the end for Fox, just like the other two which are dying in the ratings. Social Media is great!
Crispin Blunt, another Tory former chair of the foreign affairs committee, says the intelligence and security committee should consider this issue. And he says the government should tell the Chinese they expect reciprocity.
Raab says that is an important point about the relationship with China.
Tom Tugendhat, the Tory MP who chaired the foreign affairs committee in the last parliament, asks if the 35% cap covers the new market, or the existing market.
Raab says the government papers explain how the 35% cap works. It is roughly equivalent to existing market share, he says.
Labour’s Barry Sheerman says there are businesses who think their intellectual property is being stolen by the Chinese every time they put it on the internet.
Bob Seely, a Conservative, asks for an assurance that MPs will be able to debate on what constitutes a high-risk vendor. And he says non trusted vendors should be built out of the system.
Raab says there is already a definition of a high-risk vendor.
Liam Fox, the former Tory international trade secretary, asks if the concern in Washington is about the UK’s ability to mitigate the risks of Huawei, or about the UK sending a message to other countries about Huawei being acceptable.
Raab says the UK and the US start from a different place. He says the government asked Washington if it could propose an alternative. He says the Americans did not have an answer on that point.
This is from Jon Sopel, the BBC’s North America editor, on the Tom Cotton quote. See 3.29pm.
This is quite the quote from Republican Senator Tom Cotton about the #Huawei decision: "I fear London has freed itself from Brussels only to cede sovereignty to Beijing."
And aligns pretty closely with what they're thinking in the @WhiteHouse
Labour’s Pat McFadden asks if at any point the US has linked this decision to the chances of the UK getting a trade deal.
Raab says the Americans have not done this to his knowledge.
Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, says he is “deeply disappointed” by this decision. He says defending in cyber networks is always a matter of catch-up. He says Huawei will always be in the periphery. Does Raab accept that China is a threat? And will the government try to drive Huawei out of the network for good?
Raab says it is important to assess the nature of the risk. The government is doing that.
Penny Mordaunt, the Conservative former defence secretary, says this decision is “regrettable”.
Penny Mordaunt, former defence secretary, says that Huawei decision is 'regrettable'
High risk vendors like Huawei should be 'excluded from any provision, she says
'This country must never find itself in this position ever again'
David Davis, the Tory former Brexit secretary, says Huawei should have been banned from the 5G network.
This is from the Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith. He is quoting Tom Cotton, a Republican senator from Arkansas.
NEW
Brutal response to 5G decision from Republican senator @SenTomCotton sent to Telegraph.
‘Like allowing the KGB to build its telephone network during the Cold War’. Calls for immediate intel sharing review. pic.twitter.com/Ghzt7oIRzf
Julian Lewis, a Tory former chair of the defence committee, says Huawei is not independent of the Chinese state.
Raab says the relationship between Huawei and the Chinese state has been central to the analysis of the threat it poses.
Dominic Raab is responding to John Nicolson.
He says an outright ban, of the kind proposed by the SNP, would not remove the firm from the British telecoms network, it would not encourage diversification of supply, and it would increase costs for business.
The SNP’s John Nicolson says the government has opted for the “cheapest, least secure option”.
He says using Huawei is not safe. Under Chinese law, firms have to cooperate with the state, she says.
Theresa May, the former PM, says she commends the government for this decision.
When she was PM, she was reportedly planning to come to the same decision on Huawei and 5G.
Raab is responding to Thomas-Symonds.
He says intelligence sharing will not be put at risk, and never will be. High risk vendors have never been involved in intelligence networks, and never will be, he says.
Thomas-Symonds says a rush by the government to throw itself into the arms of President Trump to get a trade deal must not govern everything it does.
He says the UK has had to choose between just three 5G vendors. What can be done to ensure more are available, he asks.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, a shadow Home Office minister, is responding for Labour. He says there has been too much “dither and delay”. This decision should have been made earlier, he says.
Raab says there will be nothing in the plans that will stop the government sharing highly-classified intelligence, either within the UK or with five eyes intelligence partners (ie, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand).
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, is making a Commons statement about the Huawei/5G decision.
He says the government will do nothing to undermine UK security, or the security of its allies.
Here is a question from BTL (below the line).
Andrew,
In a recent R4 interview former Australian PM Tony Abbott suggested that the structuring of 4G and 5G is fundamentally different; that 4G has a core that can be ring fenced for security whereas 5G did not. Is there anything to substantiate that perspective? I appreciate that this is not a question on politics as such but the defences advanced by those supporting Huawei getting the contract suggest mitigation is still both possible and effective.
Claim 2. There’s no distinction between core and edge in 5G
This is covered in the previous blog, so I’m not going to delve into huge detail here, but it remains untrue. In previous networks, sensitive functions were grouped together in a couple of locations we called ‘core’. In 5G they are spread out a bit more, but sensitive functions are still sensitive functions and you can put your arms round them – for example, we list them in the guidance published today. Remember, in 5G you need lots of smaller basestations as well as big ones, and the small ones will be on lampposts, bus shelters and other places that aren’t secure from physical interference by bad guys.
This is from Sean Spicer, who was press secretary to President Trump during Trump’s first six months in office.
Not sure how something like #Huawei can have a “limited” role in building the next version of the UK’s telecom infrastructure: U.K. Allows Huawei to Build #5G Networks, in Break with U.S.
Via @businesshttps://t.co/2q30Hc1pog
Tracy Brabin, the shadow culture secretary, has issued this statement on the Huawei decision on behalf of the Labour party.
The Tories refused to take our technological sovereignty seriously and failed to invest in home-grown alternatives to Huawei. As a result they’re in the ludicrous position of having to choose between the UK’s security concerns and our infrastructure needs.
Despite years of dithering, the government still can’t tell us how it will restrict Huawei’s access to sensitive parts of the network. It must now give specific reassurances to workers and businesses that a 35% market cap will not stop 5G becoming widely available by 2027, as planned – and that it will support communities whose access to 5G will be delayed by this decision.
From CNN’snational security correspondent Kylie Atwood
Senior Trump Admin official says the US is "disappointed" by the UK decision to allow Huawei to build part of their 5G network: "There is no safe option for untrusted vendors to control any part of a 5G network."
Secretary Pompeo visits the UK tomorrow.
Here is some more US reaction to the Huawei decision. This is from Elise Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman from New York.
The decision by @BorisJohnson to allow Huawei into the UK’s telecommunications network is wrong, dangerous, and a grave shortsighted mistake.
Congress must work on a bipartisan basis to push back on this decision by the UK to open their arms to China’s surveillance state.
Industry leaders have said the salary threshold recommended in the report from the migration advisory committee - £25,600, not £30,000 as previously proposed - is still too high.
The Food and Drink Federation, whose members rely heavily on EU citizens to staff food production sites including meat processing factories, unattractive to many British workers, said this was “a step in the right direction” but urged the government to “consider going further still by adopting the ‘growing rate’ system outlined.
Turning away from Huawei, negotiations on the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU will start on 3 March, my colleague Daniel Boffey reports.
Related: EU to start talks with UK on post-Brexit relationship on 3 March
Here is an analysis of the Huawei decision from Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian defence and security correspondent.
Related: Huawei decision is a sensible compromise but could still anger US
Nick Timothy, who was co-chief of staff to Theresa May when she was prime minister until the 2017 general election, has criticised the Huawei decision.
I fear we’re going to regret this decision, in ways that won’t be very visible to the public and might not show for years to come. Our telecoms infrastructure is more and more dependent on Huawei and our freedom of action vis-a-vis China, even at home, is diminishing by the day.
From the BBC’s security correspondent Gordon Corera
It took less than 90 minutes for the UK's National Security Council to take one of the trickiest, most consequential and most delayed decisions it has faced. Huawei is in 5G. It may take years or decades though before we really know the full implications.
According to a YouGov poll, members of the public are more likely to be against using Huawei to build the 5G infrastructure than in favour by a margin of three to one.
But almost half of the public do not have a view, the poll also suggests.
The government has decided that Chinese telecomms company Huawei should be allowed to build parts of Britain's 5G network, despite security concerns. Only 14% of Brits agree with the decision, while 43% disagree (another 43% aren't sure)https://t.co/0R9AaoKfM2pic.twitter.com/3usUMhTljj
And this is from Steve Baker, the Tory backbencher, on the Huawei decision.
As I told the Telegraph:
“It would lead to enduring alarm if the government approved Huawei technology without setting out in some detail what risks have been considered, how they have been dismissed or mitigated."https://t.co/JWQUMXA2gL
This seems to be happening.
Explaining the decision is happening.
Tom Tugendhat has now posted an eight-part thread on Twitter explaining some of his concerns about the Huawei decision.
The statement from the Government on Huawei’s presence in the UK’s 5G market suggests progress from our current position but leaves many areas of concern and many questions unanswered. 1/8
6. Overall, this statement leaves many concerns and does not close the UK's networks to a frequently malign international actor. If we're to avoid finding ourselves in a similar position with 6G in the future, we will need to act now. I will be talking to ministers urgently. 8/8
Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP who chaired the foreign affairs committee in the last parliament, and Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, were two of the backbenchers most critical of Huawei when MPs debated the issue in the Commons yesterday afternoon. Now the decision has been formally announced, they have restated their opposition to the plan.
These are from LBC’s Theo Usherwood and ITV’s Daniel Hewitt.
.@TomTugendhat tells @mrjamesob on Huawei: "What I am concerned about is that by allowing (Huawei) to continue to operate, what we are doing is that we are enabling further dependence."
Mr Tugendhat says today's statement means thinking "very hard about whether the risk and reward benefits are aligned".
"We need to make sure we have a 5G market that serves the British people but also does that by keeping us safe and protecting our data."
He adds: "The problem we have with Huawei... is that it is highly connected to the Chinese state and it has been linked to various espionage accusations.
"How do we manage that balance when over the last 15/16 years an increasing dependence on Huawei is the challenge."
He says he wants to know that whether the 35% cap on Huawei's involvement in non-core parts of the 5G is part of an effort to phase the company out, or an attempt to limit its participation in building the network.
Ends.
NEW: Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith tells me allowing Huawei to help build 5G is a “mistake...we are in a cyber war with China” and it “beggars belief” we would allow them into our 5G network. He calls for the govt to reverse its decision and take Huawei out of the 4G network as well.
Huawei has welcomed the UK government’s decision. This is from its vice-president, Victor Zhang.
Huawei is reassured by the UK government’s confirmation that we can continue working with our customers to keep the 5G roll-out on track.
This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future.
Newt Gingrich, a leading Republican and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has described Boris Johnson’s Huawei decision as “major defeat” for the US.
British decision to accept Huawei for 5G is a major defeat for the United Statees. How big does Huawei have to get and how many countries have to sign with Huawei for the US government to realize we are losing the internet to China? This is becoming an enormous strategic defeat.
Jeremy Wright, the former culture secretary, told BBC News that he thought Boris Johnson’s decision on Huawei was a “sensible compromise”.
Here is the 30-page report (pdf) from the National Cyber Security Centre containing its analysis of security threats to the telecommunications sector. It has been published today alongside the announcement.
And here is its conclusion.
Our threat analysis highlights that our telecoms sector is potentially vulnerable to a range of cyber-risks. This analysis is backed up by evidence generated from security testing of telecoms networks and by security incidents. In this paper, we have outlined the NCSC’s approach to assessing the cyber risk to the telecoms sector, and our recommendations for reducing and managing this risk. While the risks are complex and interlinked, the NCSC has identified that it is feasible to manage these risks and by doing so, increase confidence in the telecoms services on which the nation relies.
Here is a statement from Nicky Morgan, the culture secretary, about the Huawei/5G decision. She said:
We want world-class connectivity as soon as possible but this must not be at the expense of our national security. High-risk vendors never have been and never will be in our most sensitive networks.
The government has reviewed the supply chain for telecoms networks and concluded today it is necessary to have tight restrictions on the presence of high-risk vendors.
Here is an extract from the culture department news release.
Ministers today determined that UK operators should put in place additional safeguards and exclude high-risk vendors from parts of the telecoms network that are critical to security.
High-risk vendors are those who pose greater security and resilience risks to UK telecoms networks.
Here is my colleague Heather Stewart’s story about the Huawei announcement.
Related: Boris Johnson gives green light for Huawei 5G infrastructure role
The Chinese state-owned tech firm Huawei has been designated a “high-risk vendor” but will be given the opportunity to build non-core elements of Britain’s 5G network, the government has announced.
The company will be banned from the “core”, of the 5G network, and from operating at sensitive sites such as nuclear and military facilities, and its share of the market will be capped at 35%.
The government Huawei announcement is out.
BREAKING:
Boris Johnson has given green light to allow Huawei to build non-core parts of 5G network
* Huawei designated high-risk vendor
* It faces a market share cap of 35%
* UK will work with US to encourage alternative providers
Brace for backlash form US...
This morning Christopher Pincher, a Foreign Office minister, has been attending an EU general affairs council meeting in Brussels. It is the last scheduled EU meeting that a British minister will be attending while the UK remains a member. As he arrived Pincher said that he would deliver the message that “as we leave the EU we will always be allies, partners and friends”. He said:
I’m here to reassert to my EU friends and colleagues that, though we are leaving the EU, we are not leaving Europe.
Our shared history, our shared values, our commitment to security and prosperity continue as equals - sovereign equals.
The has been part of Europe’s shared history since long before the EU came into being, and our close friendship will continue long after 31 January. Today I am at our last Council meeting as an member to wish my EU colleagues the best for the future. pic.twitter.com/9KswIEh6Tj
Here are some of the more interesting articles and tweets on the Huawei/5G story that I’ve seen this morning.
The US has taken a hard line because it knows the UK decision has global significance.
Many other countries are going through similar debates right now. Like the UK, they would like to use Huawei because it is cheap but fear the security risks and the wrath of the US.
What No. 10 really thinks: My colleague Annabelle Dickson reports this is ultimately a trade-off that Downing Street is prepared to make. She says today’s big decision on Huawei reflects the new strategic thinking inside No. 10, where senior officials prioritize potentially revolutionary advances in technology over the marginal gains of increased transatlantic trade. “Former ministers and officials who are familiar with the mind-set of Johnson and his top adviser Dominic Cummings say privately that modern tech infrastructure is much more important to the pair’s vision for the U.K.’s future economy than trade with the U.S., welcome as a quick deal would be,” she reports.
Read the quotes:“If you are Dom and the PM, you know in 10 years we want to be a high-tech Silicon Valley across the whole of the U.K.,” says one government official who has worked closely with both men. “We need high-speed internet across the country to do that. That is more important than getting slightly cheaper meat.” The official continues: “While trade deals are a Tory MP obsession … Dom would come from the school of thought that the point of trade deals and leaving the EU is to make your own domestic market more dynamic and more responsive.”
Imagine the situation the other way round. Would China allow a British or American company to get itself near the heart of its secret systems? Of course not. The Huawei case is actually worse than that, because whereas British or American companies have independent lives of their own, a country like China does not. Huawei is an arm of the Chinese state, and Beijing would never allow it otherwise. That state remains, despite all the reforms, a one-party, totalitarian system.
Indeed the present condition of the Chinese Communist party seems to be reverting in its leadership cult, its ultra-secrecy and its hostility to exterior powers to the mindset of the Chairman Mao era.
THREAD: I’m pretty sick of the poor quality debate about whether to involve Huawei in the roll-out of 5G in the UK and elsewhere. The simple fact is that it is NOT the only provider of 5G networks - but it is the largest and (surprise!) the CHEAPEST
Wake up call: China’s massive monetary support for Huawei’s R&D into 5G (and thus the entire future of the way we communicate with each other, HELLO!) is DESIGNED to destroy competitors like Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung. With Huawei *everywhere*, imagine trying to dismantle it?
To conclude: If Western governments HAD SOME COURAGE, they would start backing THEIR OWN companies in the development of 5G, rather than falling for technology from a government which is NOTORIOUS for industrial and other types of espionage.
In all of the reporting of the Huawei story a couple of things are often ignored. There’s not one single UK 5G network but 4, and three of them are already rolling out with Huawei - here right at the heart of the city of London pic.twitter.com/sC4dDJ39LU
Here is the full text of the migration advisory committee’s report (pdf). It runs to 278 page.
There is also an annex (pdf) running to 103 pages.
According to a survey for ConservativeHome, almost 80% of Conservative party members think the government should ban the Chinese firm Huawei from playing a role in the 5G network. ConservativeHome surveys are normally seen as reliable guide to opinion in the party.
Ministers are in Downing Street now for the national security council meeting that will decide whether Huawei can build the UK’s 5G network. Here are some of the arrival pictures.
According to the Washington Post, three Republican senators have written to the British national security council urging them not to let Huawei play a role in building the UK’s 5G infrastructure. In their letter Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton and John Cornyn said:
This letter represents a genuine plea from one ally to another. We do not want to feed post-Brexit anxieties by threatening a potential US-UK free trade agreement when it comes to congress for approval. Nor would we want to have to review US-UK intelligence sharing.
The facts on Huawei are clear. We hope that your government will make the right decision and reject Huawei’s inclusion in its 5G infrastructure.
Here are the latest figures on Labour leadership nominations from @CLPNominations, a respected Twitter account.
So far, 84 CLPs have nominated candidates to be leader of the Labour Party.
Keir Starmer: 48
Rebecca Long-Bailey: 21
Lisa Nandy: 11
Emily Thornberry: 4 pic.twitter.com/0jzO1Jze4h
So far, nine affiliates have nominated candidates to be leader of the Labour Party.
Keir Starmer: 4
Lisa Nandy: 3
Rebecca Long-Bailey: 2 pic.twitter.com/sQOLjhRVTF
So far, 84 CLPs have nominated candidates to be deputy leader of the Labour Party.
Angela Rayner: 54
Dawn Butler: 12
Richard Burgon: 7
Ian Murray: 7
Rosena Allin-Khan: 4 pic.twitter.com/ADStLjHb1B
So far, eight affiliates have nominated candidates to be deputy leader of the Labour Party.
Angela Rayner: 5
Richard Burgon: 2
Dawn Butler: 1 pic.twitter.com/EfYe5iijHs
Here is my colleague Amelia Gentleman’s story about the migration advisory committee’s report.
Related: Migration committee advises against full points-based system for UK
The independent migration advisory committee does not recommend a full shift to an Australian points-based system in research giving the first detailed insight into how a reformed immigration system might look after Brexit and the ending of freedom of movement for EU nationals.
In a report published on Tuesday, the independent committee, which provides research-based advice to the government, recommends a mixed system, which would rely on a minimum salary threshold for those people coming to the UK with a job offer, and a points-based system for those coming to the UK without a pre-arranged job.
The migration advisory committee is recommending that the post-Brexit immigration salary threshold should be cut from £30,000 (the level proposed by the government when Theresa May was PM) to £25,600, the BBC’s Norman Smith reports.
Govt shd cut immigration salary threshold post Brexit from £30,000 to £25,600 say Migration Advisory Committee
At this stage in the electoral cycle (just after a big election win for the governing party, and with the opposition in the middle of a leadership election), opinion polls don’t count for much. But if you do want to know what the polls are saying, the Times’ Matt Chorley has the latest figures from YouGov.
New @YouGov poll for @thetimes puts the Tories on 49%
Yes Labour don't have a leader, but Johnson is enjoying a honeymoon for now pic.twitter.com/jkY2c4URoZ
Boris Johnson’s government spent £46m on a “Get Ready for Brexit” campaign in October, but demonstrated little evidence it left the public better prepared, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found. My colleague Rajeev Syal has the full story here.
Related: 'Get Ready for Brexit' campaign had little effect, says watchdog
Boris Johnson and his ministers want to improve regional connectivity, in particular rail travel in the north of England, and today Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, is announcing outline proposals to reopen two rail lines: the Ashington-Blyth-Tyne Line in Northumberland, and the the Fleetwood line in Lancashire. As with the government plans for “40 new hospitals”, there is no firm commitment to go ahead with the work; just a seed-funding commitment to explore the idea. My colleague Gwyn Topham’s story about the plan is here.
Related: Northern rail to be renationalised – and some Beeching closures could reopen
Today we've announced a £500m Beeching Reversal Fund to start re-opening rail lines axed under Harold Wilson's govt. Ultimately this saw 5,000 miles of rail & 2,363 stations closed. Our plan will help re-connect towns & villages to the rail network https://t.co/Z4Qz6nSr3fpic.twitter.com/B6DaakFQWY
The funding pledged by the government would reopen just 25 miles of railway.
The Conservatives claim to have been reversing Beeching cuts since 2017 despite not reopening an inch of track.
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