LONDON: There is clear evidence of collusion between Huawei and the Chinese State, a UK parliamentary inquiry concluded in its report on Thursday. The designation of Huawei as a "high-risk vendor" by the UK government is "appropriate and completely justified" with the correct steps being taken to remove it from the UK's 5G, said the Defence Committee of the House of Commons. During the course of the inquiry the UK government announced that Huawei technology will be removed from the UK's 5G network by 2027.
However, the Committee noted that developments could necessitate this date being moved forward, potentially to 2025.
The government should take necessary steps to minimise the delay and economic damage and consider providing compensation to operators if the 2027 deadline is moved forward, it suggested.
Huawei, however said that "this report lacks credibility as it is built on opinion rather than fact", the BBC reported.
"We're sure people will see through these accusations of collusion and remember instead what Huawei has delivered for Britain over the past 20 years," a spokesman for the company was quoted as saying.
However, the accusations in the new report have the potential to increase suspicions surrounding the company's operations.
The report, however, said that Huawei has been, and continues to be, "sufficiently distanced from sensitive defence and national security sites."
"Protecting the public and preserving our nation's security are amongst the principle responsibilities of Government. The decision to embed a technology that compromises this would constitute a gross dereliction of these duties," Chair of the Defence Committee, Tobias Ellwood, said in a statement.
The West must urgently unite to advance a counterweight to China's tech dominance, said the report.
The Committee consulted a number of technical experts on 5G networks, telecom industry insiders and and academics for the inquiry.
Executives from Huawei were not asked to testify, although they appeared before a separate UK parliament committee in July. (IANS)
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