Britain’s scrutiny of Huawei equipment ‘toughest in the world’, says UK spy chief Jeremy Fleming

Fleming said the UK would weigh all factors – technical, economic and political – before making a decision on whether Huawei should be banned from the roll-out of national 5G networks

Britain’s moves will be closely watched by other nations, as it is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network

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Jeremy Fleming, director of the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ). Photo: AFP

Published: 8:19pm, 25 Feb 2019Updated: 10:05pm, 25 Feb 2019

Britain will not let up on its strict management of Huawei’s involvement in its communication networks, spy chief Jeremy Fleming said on Monday, as he described the country’s approach as “probably the toughest oversight regime for that company in the world”.

Since 2010, Fleming’s communications intelligence agency GCHQ has partnered with the Chinese company to set up a centre that scrutinises Huawei equipment before it is used throughout the United Kingdom.

“[The oversight regime] revealed significant problems with their cyber-security practices ... which have caused them to commit to a multimillion pound remedial programme,” Fleming said at a lecture in Singapore organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“And as I’m sure you will have seen, we’ve been crystal clear that we will not compromise on the improvements we expect.”

Jeremy Fleming (left) with Dr John Chipman, Director-General and Chief Executive of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Photo: Ng Jing Yng

Britain came under the spotlight recently after security officials revealed they did not believe there needed to be a full ban of Huawei from its communication network as it was possible to mitigate security risks, despite the US alleging that the company’s equipment could be used for state espionage.