A spy chief today pledged adequate security to stop China being able to use Huawei technology in 5G networks to snoop on Britain.
Ciaran Martin, head of the National Cyber Security Centre, also said a far wider stepping up of efforts to protect UK telecommunications was needed.
Theresa May is understood to have given the go-ahead for Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to play a limited role in new 5G networks in the UK, despite senior ministers raising concerns.
The US had urged allies not to use Huawei’s technology over fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spy operations, a claim the company denies.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright is expected to announce the Government is not taking the same approach as Washington.
Mr Martin told Radio 4’s Today programme: “The review that the Secretary of State will announce in due course is about much more than just Huawei, much more than about China, it’s about the fundamentals of how to keep these networks safe from any attacker.
“There will be detailed explanations of the security framework that we are going to put in place to make sure we have sufficiently safe 5G networks.”
The Huawei decision by the National Security Council emerged shortly before Chancellor Philip Hammond is due to fly to China for talks likely to include British involvement in Beijing’s multi-billion-dollar “Belt and Road” global investment drive.
The NCSC is part of Britain’s GCHQ listening centre.
