Huawei equipment to be banned from Portsmouth military bases despite green light to help build 5G network

The National Security Council chaired by prime minister Boris Johnson today decided that ‘high-risk vendors’ should be permitted to play a peripheral role in the network.

But advice issued to telecoms operators by the National Cyber Security Centre said such vendors should be barred from all safety-related and critical networks.

They will also be excluded from security critical ‘core’ functions, and sensitive geographic locations, such as nuclear sites and military bases.

A spokesman for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport told The News that this means that Huawei equipment will not be used in sensitive sites such as the naval bases in our area.

However, this will not mean that 5G will be blocked in areas like Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport that have such bases.

High-risk firms will also have their presence limited to no more than 35 per cent in the periphery of the network, known as the access network, which connects devices and equipment to mobile phone masts.

The decision sets the PM up for a clash with many Tory MPs as well as the US, where Donald Trump's administration has lobbied against the UK allowing Huawei access.

Culture secretary Baroness Morgan said: ‘We want world-class connectivity as soon as possible but this must not be at the expense of our national security.

‘High risk vendors never have been and never will be in our most sensitive networks.

‘This is a UK-specific solution for UK-specific reasons and the decision deals with the challenges we face right now.

‘It not only paves the way for secure and resilient networks, with our sovereignty over data protected, but it also builds on our strategy to develop a diversity of suppliers.

‘We can now move forward and seize the huge opportunities of 21st-century technology.’

Huawei's vice-president Victor Zhang added: ‘Huawei is reassured by the UK government's confirmation that we can continue working with our customers to keep the 5G roll-out on track.

‘This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future.

‘It gives the UK access to world-leading technology and ensures a competitive market.’