Shropshire MP Owen Paterson's fears as Huawei amendment defeated
North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson likened involving Chinese tech giant Huawei in Britain's 5G mobile phone network to inviting prisoners to help build a jail wall.
Mr Paterson called for the Government to set a date ending its dealings with Huawei in the first test of the Government's 80-strong majority since the General Election.
He was speaking in support of an amendment tabled by Sir Iain Duncan Smith calling for a ban on 'high-risk vendors' from the system after 2022.
The Government today managed to fight off the rebellion, defeating the amendment by a majority of 24.
During a debate in the Commons this afternoon, Mr Paterson said he found the Government's position 'incomprehensible'.
He said it had admitted Huawei was a high-risk supplier, and was 'tantalisingly close' to reaching an acceptable compromise.
"It could have said 'we inherited a very bad position from preceding Conservative and Labour governments', and we would like to get from the current position where we have a high-risk vendor imparted in our 4G and other networks reduced to zero over a period of time'.
"That would be a perfectly logical plan, and we are tantalisingly close to the Government saying that."
'Ridiculous'
But he said limiting Chinese involvement to 35 per cent of the network's infrastructure was a ridiculous suggestion.
"They have acknowledged the high risk, having a limit of 35 per cent is a bit of a nonsense, it's like saying prisoners are allowed to build 35 per cent of a prison wall," he said.
"If 35 per cent is a risk, and it can't go above 35, the obvious ineluctable conclusion is that is should to go zero over a period of time."
Mr Paterson said there were many safer companies which could produce the same equipment.
"We know Samsung are supplying Korea, we know France have gone for others, the United States have gone for Ericsson, Australia with a huge dependence on Chinese exports have gone for other vendors, so that's all a nonsense," he said.
Mr Paterson quoted a report from the National Cybersecurity Centre report, which said any national dependence on a high-risk vendor would present a significant security risk.
He said all he was seeking was a commitment to have an end date for the use of high-risk suppliers.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden responded by saying he shared Mr Paterson's with to get to the point where there was no need to use high-risk suppliers at all.
But Mr Dowden said the Government was not yet at the stage where it would be setting a timetable for this.
"That is the opportunity we will have when we get to the Telecoms Bill in the summer," he said.
Critics are concerned that his decision to allow Huawei to supply "non-core" elements of the 5G network could jeopardise security because of the firm's ties to the Chinese state.
The White House has banned the firm from US telecoms networks and has been highly-critical of the Government's decision, which came despite intense lobbying from the States.
Sir Iain's amendment was defeated by 306 votes to 282.
