It is expected that the UK government will make a decision on Tuesday on whether to allow Chinese tech giant Huawei to have any role in the UK’s new 5G networks.
Speculation over recent weeks and months has suggested that Boris Johnson may ban Huawei from key parts of the network, but potentially not others.
The US has lobbied the UK and other countries to exclude the Chinese company on the grounds of national security, however, Huawei has insisted it would never take orders from the government in China. Last May, the US administration banned companies including Google from selling technology to Huawei.
A leak from a high-level security meeting last April suggested that the UK government may allow the supply of equipment by Huawei for the 5G network. The leak was blamed on Gavin Williamson, who subsequently lost his job at the time as Defence Secretary.
Four 5G networks currently exist in the UK, with three using some equipment from Huawei.
Boris Johnson is to chair a meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday where a decision on Huawei’s involvement is expected to be reached.
