Demand for inquiry after Huawei briefing
April 25 2019, 12:01am, The Times of London
An unprecedented leak from highly confidential talks with senior ministers about the Chinese telecoms company Huawei has caused outrage among spy chiefs.
There were calls for an inquiry after reports emerged of a meeting at which Theresa May was said to have given Huawei approval to supply technology for the next-generation 5G network despite warnings that it could compromise national security.
Sajid Javid, the home secretary, Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, Gavin Williamson, the defence secretary, Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, and Penny Mordaunt, the aid secretary, all raised concerns during a meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday.
The council also includes other senior cabinet ministers and the leaders of MI6, MI5 and GCHQ. Intelligence chiefs are understood to be furious that the iron-cast confidentiality of the weekly meeting, in which highly sensitive information is shared, was broken.
Sir Mark Sedwill, the national security adviser and cabinet secretary, is considering an inquiry.
“Until now there had never been a leak from the NSC — the Skripals, Syria and plenty else besides were discussed there without incident,” a senior Whitehall official said. “What this does is just undermines the ability for politicians to receive intelligence and candid advice.”
A minister said that there was “huge outrage”. “Cabinet is clearly desensitised by the frequency of leaks but an NSC [leak] has never happened before,” the minister added.
Sir Nicholas Soames, the Conservative grandee, called for a criminal inquiry. He told the BBC that the leak would “cause our friends and allies to wonder if we can be considered reliable — whoever is responsible should be dismissed from the Queen’s service”.
The account of the meeting was described as a “hit job” by one senior figure, who said that it was “evidently briefed to make a leadership candidate look tough on China”.
A member of the wider intelligence community assumed the leak was “political — someone with a leadership ambition wanting to show they are not ‘soft’ on China. Brexit meets 5G!”
Intelligence experts have warned that allowing the Chinese company to supply technology for 5G could pose a security risk. Huawei has denied there is any risk of espionage, or that it is controlled by the Chinese government.
The timing of the leak was awkward, coming the night before hundreds of intelligence officials gathered in Glasgow for a two-day cybersecurity conference. Ciaran Martin, head of the defensive branch of GCHQ, was due to appear on stage alongside his counterparts from the Five Eyes network — the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — for the first time in Britain hours after a report of the decision was published in The Daily Telegraph.
A move by Britain to press ahead with Huawei technology even in part of its 5G infrastructure would represent a split in the Five Eyes. Australia has imposed a total ban. New Zealand has banned the company from aspects of its 5G but a final decision has yet to be taken. The US has banned Huawei from federal government networks and although it has yet to reveal its 5G plans it has been robust in its rhetoric. Canada is reviewing the situation.
Security chiefs from the five nations maintained a show of unity on the panel, stressing their commitment to work together, and Rob Joyce, a senior cybersecurity adviser to the National Security Agency, appeared to suggest that the US position had softened.
Cabinet ministers have expressed a range of views on the issue, with some taking a more hawkish stance.
Mr Williamson expressed “grave, very deep concerns” about Huawei being involved in 5G in December last year and accused President Xi’s regime of sometimes acting “in a malign way”. However, Robert Hannigan, a former director of GCHQ, has said that it would be “crazy” to ban Chinese technologies, which are expected to be both the cheapest and most advanced.
Huawei has denied it poses any risk. In a letter to The Times Jerry Wang, chief executive of Huawei UK, said that America’s accusations were “not based on security concerns, but a barely concealed protectionist trade agenda”.
Who sits on the NSC?
Theresa May, prime minister
David Lidington, Cabinet Office minister
Philip Hammond, chancellor
Greg Clark, business secretary
Jeremy Wright, culture secretary
Jeremy Hunt, foreign secretary
Sajid Javid, home secretary
Penny Mordaunt, international development secretary
Liam Fox, trade secretary
Gavin Williamson, defence secretary
Sir Mark Sedwill, national security adviser (NSA)
Madeleine Alessandri, deputy NSA
Christian Turner, deputy NSA
The heads of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ
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