Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff issues stark Huawei warning to UK

Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff warns UK that going ahead with its Huawei 5G decision will have ‘direct and dramatic impact’ on intelligence sharing with the US as pressure grows on Number 10 to reverse move

  • Delegation led by White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney in UK for talks
  • Last night he said UK’s Huawei decision would likely impact intelligence sharing
  • Boris Johnson announced Huawei would be allowed limited 5G role in January
  • Decision angered Trump administration and sparked a revolt by angry Tory MPs 

Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff has warned the UK that granting Huawei a role in Britain’s 5G network will have a ‘direct and dramatic impact’ on intelligence sharing with the US. 

Mick Mulvaney is leading a delegation of US officials on a visit to the UK and is due to meet key government figures, potentially including Boris Johnson’s top aide Dominic Cummings, in Downing Street today to discuss Huawei.

Last night he delivered a stark warning to Number 10 about the potential consequences of green lighting the involvement of the Chinese tech giant in the crucial infrastructure. 

The White House has urged its allies not to do business with Huawei due to security concerns. But Huawei has always denied that it poses a security risk. 

Mr Johnson announced at the end of January that the firm would be given a limited role in the construction of the 5G network. 

The decision sparked fury in Washington and there is a growing Tory rebellion on the issue with Downing Street under mounting pressure to perform a U-turn. 

Donald Trump, pictured in Phoenix, Arizona, yesterday, is furious at the UK’s decision to allow Huawei a role in building Britain’s 5G network

A delegation led by Mr Trump's acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney (above right)  is due to meet key No 10 figures to discuss the transatlantic row over the the Chinese tech giant

A delegation led by Mr Trump’s acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney (above right)  is due to meet key No 10 figures to discuss the transatlantic row over the the Chinese tech giant

Mr Mulvaney last night piled the pressure on the UK government to change tack as he addressed the Oxford Union. 

‘Our governments share a tremendous amount of security information,’ he said in comments reported by The Telegraph. 

‘We are very much concerned that integrity of that information is hardwired into your computer systems, and if you folks go forward with the decision, it will have a direct and dramatic impact on our ability to share information with you. 

‘Period, end of story.’

The delegation led by Mr Mulvaney will reportedly deliver a ‘b******ing’ to their UK counterparts over the Huawei decision during the visit. 

The US administration is increasingly vocal about its displeasure regarding Britain’s approach to the construction of its 5G network. 

On Sunday night Mr Trump conveyed a tough message to key allies including the UK and France over Huawei at a security conference in Munich. 

The American ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, said the president told him to make clear ‘any nation who chooses to use an untrustworthy 5G vendor will jeopardise our ability to share intelligence and information at the highest level’.

The UK government has labelled Huawei a ‘high risk’ vendor but has still granted the company a role. 

Fury is not just confined to the US either with Australian MPs believed to have cancelled a visit to the UK next month because of their opposition to the move. 

Canberra has refused to allow Huawei involvement in its telecoms systems. 

Huawei has always rejected accusations that it poses a security risk, as claimed by the US

Huawei has always rejected accusations that it poses a security risk, as claimed by the US 

Huawei’s role in the British 5G network will be subject to tough restrictions, such as being barred from the ‘core’ network and it will be limited to a maximum 35 per cent market share. 

Despite an initially muted response in public, Mr Trump was said to have been ‘apoplectic’ with anger in a phone call with Mr Johnson on the issue.

Senior Tory MPs are now mobilising to try to force Number 10 to rethink its decision. 

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, David Davis and Owen Paterson are believed to have formed a formed a group to coordinate their efforts as they call for ‘high risk’ vendors to removed from the network. 

Sir Iain, a former Tory leader and veteran Cabinet minister, said the UK had been ‘cosying up’ to China for the past two decades and it is ‘becoming an embarrassment’.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk