UK banned Huawei because of 'US pressure': former minister

The ban had nothing to do with national security, says Sir Vince Cable

A former senior minister of the British government has said that the decision to ban 5G equipment and services from Chinese telecom giant Huawei was a result of "pressure" from the US and "had nothing to do with national security."

CGTN quoted UK's former business and industry minister Sir Vince Cable, who served as secretary of state for business, innovation and skills from 2010 to 2015 in the coalition government led by David Cameron, as saying that the UK banned Huawei "because the Americans told us we should do it".

He said that the UK intelligence and security services gave repeated assurances that there was no risk posed by using Huawei services during his tenure as minister.

Read more: Google flags US national security risks from Huawei ban

On July 14, 2020, current Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government announced the decision to ban Huawei from Britain's 5G network by ordering telecom companies to remove its equipment by 2027, a move just months after the US slapped sanctions on the world's largest telecom supplier, citing "national security" concerns.

When asked about Cable's remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said it once again proved that claims of "national security" risks from 5G technologies were pretexts used by the US to suppress Chinese high-tech companies.

"The 'Clean Network' programme launched by the US is synonymous with 'coercive diplomacy.' From Toshiba and Alstom to Huawei, as well as Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC), the victims of the US 'coercive diplomacy' are all over the world," Wang said at a regular press briefing Thursday afternoon.

"The bullying behaviour of the US will definitely meet more and more widespread resistance and opposition from the international community," he added.