Kathy Gibson is at Reuters Newsmaker virtual event – The UK will likely opt to support the US in its stance on Huawei and limit the Chinese vendor’s involvement in building 5G networks in the country.
This is the word from Tony Blair, executive chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and former prime minister of the UK, speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event.
“We need to make a call on this, and I think it must be pro-US in the end,” he says.
“It is a problem for us. Huawei has an infrastructure that we need, that is embedded, and is cheaper than alternatives. It is extraordinary that the west has allowed this superiority in 5G to be gained.
“But the US feels strongly about it, and it is very hard for us [the UK] not to be with the US on anything that touches US security.”
He points out that the UK government is trying to restrict the Huawei footprint as far as possible. “Whether we can do this successfully is another question.”
“But there is no doubt the UK will want to be with the US on security questions.”