Boris Johnson's newly appointed communications director, Guto Harri, lobbied a former Downing Street chief of staff to prevent the ban on Chinese tech giant Huawei from the UK's 5G network, according to leaked documents reported by The Sun.
Harri, who took up the role on Monday following the partygate resignations, reportedly asked Sir Eddie Lister which ministers he could 'nudge' for help during a 25-minute video call on 2 June 2020. The meeting included three Huawei executives, at a time when security services were reviewing the risks of allowing the firm into the UK's core telecoms network.
According to minutes from the call, Lister suggested Johnson did not want to ban Huawei but was 'caught' between pressure from the Tory party and the US government. Lister was quoted as saying: 'This PM is not anti-China and is not Donald Trump,' adding that Johnson 'believes in good relationships with China.'
No 10 defended Harri's appointment, stating that full security checks had been concluded. However, former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and ex-Johnson aide Dominic Cummings have called for further investigation into Harri's past links with Huawei.
A No 10 spokesperson told The Sun: 'In full compliance with appropriate guidance, government officials met with a number of interested parties, including Huawei, following the change in US policy.' Telecoms providers were ultimately told to stop installing Huawei equipment in UK 5G networks.
