Huawei ban by the UK was a result of US pressure, minister
Vince Cable, who served as Business and Industry minister in David Cameron’s coalition administration for five years, stated at an event on Monday that the decision of Huawei ban was made “because the Americans told us we should do it.”
Cable went on to say that during his stint as minister, the intelligence and security agencies repeatedly assured them that utilizing Huawei services presented no risk.
Boris Johnson’s administration announced in July 2020 that Huawei devices will be phased out of the UK’s 5G networks altogether by the end of 2027, citing new advice from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
The development comes only months after the US slapped penalties on Huawei on the basis that the company was operating in a manner that was detrimental to US foreign policy objectives. The United States restricted Huawei from procuring critical components such as microchips and forced it to develop its own operating system.
“If Britain had kept with 5G, we would now be at the forefront of countries using the most advanced technologies. And we’re not,” said Cable.
