Boris Johnson’s new director of communications lobbied No 10’s chief of staff on behalf of Huawei shortly before the Chinese telecoms giant was excluded from the UK’s security-sensitive 5G network, it has been confirmed.
Leaked minutes of a 2020 meeting, obtained by The Sun, show that Guto Harri asked whether there were ministers he could “nudge” to preserve the company’s role in the hi-tech project, which was then subject to a security service review.
The papers show that then chief of staff Sir Eddie Lister told Harri, representing lobbyists Hawthorn Advisers, that Johnson was “not anti-China” but was “caught” by concerns from the US administration of Donald Trump, as well as British parliamentarians, over the company’s links with the Communist Party regime.
Downing Street confirmed that the meeting took place, but said it was legitimate for Mr Harri to undertake work for a client on behalf of his employer.
Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson said it was “within the rules” and “obviously we met with a number of interested parties at that time while that discussion was taking place”.
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Minutes suggested Sir Eddie – now Lord Udny-Lister – said Mr Johnson did not want to ban the firm but was “caught” between that instinct and US and Tory pressure.
“We want the technology, we want it rolled out. There’s an American concern and a parliamentary concern,” he said.
“There are a large number of MPs across the political divide who have a problem with China. Some are Atlanticists, some over Covid, some over Hong Kong, some over human rights.”
Mr Harri asked if there were “any -ministers we should talk to? Perhaps give a nudge in DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) or Treasury?”, the minutes recorded.
Responding to the leak, Mr Johnson’s spokesperson said the PM had described himself as a “Sinophile” but insisted the government had a “clear-eyed” approach to Beijing.
“It’s in the UK’s interest to have an effective relationship with China,” the spokesperson said.
“That needs to be clear eyed, as the Integrated Review (of foreign and defence policy) makes clear. We need to be able to address disagreements in a frank manner and address some of the challenges that China can pose. And that’s what the prime minister does.”
In response to the suggestion that Mr Johnson was forced into the ban by US and Tory political pressure, the spokesman said: “Obviously, we want to ensure the UK has access to the best technology for its citizens.
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“But we need to balance that against any security concerns raised, any international concerns raised, that’s exactly what we did.
“We listened to all sides of the argument. And you can see the action that we took, we planned the purchase of new 5G Huawei equipment and we’re stripping it out from our 5G networks.”