British lawmakers blast failure to monitor Huawei

British lawmakers have blasted the government for risking national security by failing to monitor the widespread use of Chinese equipment in Britain's phone and broadband networks.

In a damning report into the potential threats posed by the Chinese telecoms company Huawei, lawmakers on the parliamentary intelligence and security committee highlighted the "apparent absence of any strategy" to monitor or react to state-sponsored security threats.

They said the government oversight was "feeble".

The committee is concerned about claims Huawei has links to the People's Liberation Army and the Chinese government and could be involved in spying on UK domestic communications or cyberattacks.

Huawei has been banned from doing business in the US and blacklisted from Australia's critical national infrastructure, but in the UK most e-mails sent and phone calls made are likely to involve its equipment.

It supplies mobile handsets, routers and equipment in telephone exchanges and street cabinets, equipment which the report says "permeates the national infrastructure".