U.K. Ministers Urged to Clarify Position on Huawei

U.K. Ministers Urged to Clarify Position on Huawei

U.K. ministers are being pressed to explain why Huawei hasn’t been banned from Britain’s next-generation mobile network, the Sunday Times reported, according to Bloomberg.

Norman Lamb, the chairman of the House of Commons science and technology committee, has urged Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright to make a decision on whether the U.K. will follow its allies in barring Huawei over fears of Chinese spying. The annual report by the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre Oversight Board into how the company conducts its U.K. operations is expected to criticize its failure to act on shortcomings outlined in last year’s report.

Other so-called Five Eyes countries including the U.S. and Australia have placed restrictions on the company’s operations. Canada is still assessing security issues and is months away from a decision on whether to restrict the smartphone maker, Bloomberg News reported Jan. 18.

The U.K. government said it’s reviewing telecommunications firms’ supply arrangements to ensure "we have an effective framework for the secure deployment of 5G and full-fiber networks," the Times reported. Huawei said it is "proud of our contribution to the U.K.," according to the newspaper.