{"id":32394,"date":"2020-02-04T21:08:49","date_gmt":"2020-02-04T21:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/02\/04\/huawei-us-lawmakers-urge-uk-parliament-to-reject-dangerous-5g-decision\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:41:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:41:26","slug":"huawei-us-lawmakers-urge-uk-parliament-to-reject-dangerous-5g-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/02\/04\/huawei-us-lawmakers-urge-uk-parliament-to-reject-dangerous-5g-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"Huawei: 42 US lawmakers urge UK Parliament to reject \u2018dangerous\u2019 5G decision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 A bipartisan group of 42 U.S. lawmakers has urged their British counterparts to reverse U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson\u2019s decision to allow Huawei to have a role in its next-generation data network<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Jan. 30 letter obtained by Defense News, the U.S. lawmakers strongly urged the the heads of the UK House of Commons Defence Committee, to \u201cconsider all avenues within the powers of Parliament to reverse course on this dangerous path.\u201d The letter argued the decision risks Britain\u2019s cyber infrastructure, its citizens\u2019 private and cross-Atlantic intelligence sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rare missive from American lawmakers to their British counterparts comes as Johnson is facing a revolt<\/a> from conservatives, who are seeking greater limits or an outright ban on the Chinese telecom giant\u2019s equipment. A group of anti-Huawei Tories want an assurance that the government will work towards reducing Huawei\u2019s influence in UK infrastructure to zero, ultimately stripping it out of the 4G network as well, the Guardian reported<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The U.S. lawmakers, in their letter, echoed Trump administration officials who argue Huawei\u2019s equipment poses a spying risk. The U.K.\u2019s decision to allow Huawei a 35 percent market share per mobile phone operator, the letter warns, \u201cwill certainly frustrate intelligence sharing activities between our countries\u201d as well as other members of the \u201cFive Eyes\u201d intelligence network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGranting the [Chinese Communist Party] access to the foundation of your next generation telecommunications network would be a grave mistake,\u201d the letter reads. \u201cWhen the Government\u2019s proposal comes before Parliament, we strongly urge you to exhaust all opportunities to reject or amend the legislation so that high-risk vendors subject to extrajudicial state direction are excluded from U.K. 5G networks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by Rep. Mike Turner, a senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, the letter was signed by 19 members of the panel, including the House\u2019s No. 3 Republican, Liz Cheney. It was transmitted to Defence Committee Chair Tobias Ellwood and Vice-Chair Bernard Jenkin, as well as former chairman Julian Lewis and vice-chairman John Speller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter was spearheaded by Turner, a former U.S. representative to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, but HASC member Mike Gallagher \u2015 who has cosponsored recent anti-Huawei legislation<\/a> with Cheney and others\u2015helped Turner round up signatures for the letter. Before he decision was announced, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; and Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; sent joint letters to Johnson and all other UK National Security Council members urging them to vote against Huawei.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also lobbied hard<\/a> for a blanket ban, and last week, he asked the UK to reconsider the decision during a visit with Johnson in London. Johnson\u2019s government reportedly concluded that banning Huawei would have delayed the roll out of the 5G network by five years, so the ban only extends to \u201ccore\u201d infrastructure, with access to sensitive data.<\/p>\n\n\n\t