British government drops Huawei devices amid security concerns

British government departments "have scrapped" video conferencing equipment supplied by Chinese IT giant Huawei because of security concerns, it was claimed yesterday.

The Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Crown Prosecution Service are all said to have stopped using the devices during meetings amid fears that the devices could contain eavesdropping bugs.

According to a British Sunday newspaper, ministers "acting on specific intelligence" issued a top-level briefing ordering that all departments stop using the equipment.

The company has repeatedly denied having close links with the Chinese government. Last night a spokesman said that "the inaccurate" media reports were being taken seriously.

"We are looking into the possibility some equipment might have been sold to these departments through a third party but we have not sold such devices directly," the spokesman told the South China Morning Post.

Huawei, founded by a former PLA official Ren Zhengfei, has been banned from bidding for sensitive infrastructure contracts in the US and Australia.