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Johnson's Huawei decision 'major defeat' for US, says former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich - live news Johnson's Huawei decision 'major defeat' for US, says former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich - live news
(32 minutes later)
Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happenRolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen
According to a YouGov poll, members of the public are more likely to be against using Huawei to build the 5G infrastructure than in favour by a margin of three to one.
But almost half of the public do not have a view, the poll also suggests.
And this is from Steve Baker, the Tory backbencher, on the Huawei decision.
By “this seems to be happening”, he means he is commending the government for stressing what it is doing to mitigate the Huawei risk, he says.
Tom Tugendhat has now posted an eight-part thread on Twitter explaining some of his concerns about the Huawei decision.
And here is his conclusion.
Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP who chaired the foreign affairs committee in the last parliament, and Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, were two of the backbenchers most critical of Huawei when MPs debated the issue in the Commons yesterday afternoon. Now the decision has been formally announced, they have restated their opposition to the plan.
These are from LBC’s Theo Usherwood and ITV’s Daniel Hewitt.
Huawei has welcomed the UK government’s decision. This is from its vice president, Victor Zhang.
Newt Gingrich, a leading Republican and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has described Boris Johnson’s Huawei decision as “major defeat” for the US.Newt Gingrich, a leading Republican and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has described Boris Johnson’s Huawei decision as “major defeat” for the US.
Jeremy Wright, the former culture secretary, told BBC News that he thought Boris Johnson’s decision on Huawei was a “sensible compromise”.Jeremy Wright, the former culture secretary, told BBC News that he thought Boris Johnson’s decision on Huawei was a “sensible compromise”.
Here is the 30-page report (pdf) from the National Cyber Security Centre containing its analysis of security threats to the telecommunications sector. It has been published today alongside the announcement.Here is the 30-page report (pdf) from the National Cyber Security Centre containing its analysis of security threats to the telecommunications sector. It has been published today alongside the announcement.
And here is its conclusion.And here is its conclusion.
Here is a statement from Nicky Morgan, the culture secretary, about the Huawei/5G decision. She said:Here is a statement from Nicky Morgan, the culture secretary, about the Huawei/5G decision. She said:
Here is her news release in full.Here is her news release in full.
And here is a written ministerial statement from Morgan to peers giving more details of the government’s plans to legislate to limit the involvement of so-called “high-risk vendors” like Huawei in the 5G network.And here is a written ministerial statement from Morgan to peers giving more details of the government’s plans to legislate to limit the involvement of so-called “high-risk vendors” like Huawei in the 5G network.
Here is an extract from the culture department news release.Here is an extract from the culture department news release.
Here is my colleague Heather Stewart’s story about the Huawei announcement.Here is my colleague Heather Stewart’s story about the Huawei announcement.
This is how it starts.This is how it starts.
The government Huawei announcement is out.The government Huawei announcement is out.
More details soon ...More details soon ...
This morning Christopher Pincher, a Foreign Office minister, has been attending an EU general affairs council meeting in Brussels. It is the last scheduled EU meeting that a British minister will be attending while the UK remains a member. As he arrived Pincher said that he would deliver the message that “as we leave the EU we will always be allies, partners and friends”. He said:This morning Christopher Pincher, a Foreign Office minister, has been attending an EU general affairs council meeting in Brussels. It is the last scheduled EU meeting that a British minister will be attending while the UK remains a member. As he arrived Pincher said that he would deliver the message that “as we leave the EU we will always be allies, partners and friends”. He said:
Here are some of the more interesting articles and tweets on the Huawei/5G story that I’ve seen this morning.Here are some of the more interesting articles and tweets on the Huawei/5G story that I’ve seen this morning.
Gordon Corera, the BBC’s security correspondent, explains the dilemma facing the government in a blog. Here’s an extract.Gordon Corera, the BBC’s security correspondent, explains the dilemma facing the government in a blog. Here’s an extract.
Jack Blanchard in his London Playbook briefing for Politico Europe includes some good analysis of the Huawei issue. Here is an extract.Jack Blanchard in his London Playbook briefing for Politico Europe includes some good analysis of the Huawei issue. Here is an extract.
Charles Moore in the Daily Telegraph (pawyall) says the Huawei virus is more of a threat than the coronavirus. He says:Charles Moore in the Daily Telegraph (pawyall) says the Huawei virus is more of a threat than the coronavirus. He says:
Mike Butcher, editor-at-large at TechCrunch, has posted a Twitter thread on the story. It starts here.Mike Butcher, editor-at-large at TechCrunch, has posted a Twitter thread on the story. It starts here.
Here are his conclusions.Here are his conclusions.
And this is from the BBC’s technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.And this is from the BBC’s technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.
Here is the full text of the migration advisory committee’s report (pdf). It runs to 278 page.
There is also an annex (pdf) running to 103 pages.
According to a survey for ConservativeHome, almost 80% of Conservative party members think the government should ban the Chinese firm Huawei from playing a role in the 5G network. ConservativeHome surveys are normally seen as reliable guide to opinion in the party.
Boris Johnson is in such a strong position with his party, having just won the election with a near-landslide, that he can afford to take a decision opposed by almost four out of five of his party members. But it is unusual for a prime minister to have quite so little support from the membership on a major policy decision. It is all very well having political capital in the bank, but once you start using it up, the stock does diminish.
Ministers are in Downing Street now for the national security council meeting that will decide whether Huawei can build the UK’s 5G network. Here are some of the arrival pictures.
According to the Washington Post, three Republican senators have written to the British national security council urging them not to let Huawei play a role in building the UK’s 5G infrastructure. In their letter Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton and John Cornyn said:
The suggestion that, if the UK refuses to block Huawei, congress may block the proposed UK-US trade deal was also made by the former Trump adviser Tim Morrison in an interview yesterday.
But these interventions from Washington do not seem to be working. The NSC is meeting this morning, and it is expected to approve Huawei playing some role in the 5G roll-out. Boris Johnson implied as much yesterday.
Here are the latest figures on Labour leadership nominations from @CLPNominations, a respected Twitter account.
Here is my colleague Amelia Gentleman’s story about the migration advisory committee’s report.
And this is how her story starts.
The migration advisory committee is recommending that the post-Brexit immigration salary threshold should be cut from £30,000 (the level proposed by the government when Theresa May was PM) to £25,600, the BBC’s Norman Smith reports.
At this stage in the electoral cycle (just after a big election win for the governing party, and with the opposition in the middle of a leadership election), opinion polls don’t count for much. But if you do want to know what the polls are saying, the Times’ Matt Chorley has the latest figures from YouGov.
Boris Johnson’s government spent £46m on a “Get Ready for Brexit” campaign in October, but demonstrated little evidence it left the public better prepared, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found. My colleague Rajeev Syal has the full story here.
Boris Johnson and his ministers want to improve regional connectivity, in particular rail travel in the north of England, and today Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, is announcing outline proposals to reopen two rail lines: the Ashington-Blyth-Tyne Line in Northumberland, and the the Fleetwood line in Lancashire. As with the government plans for “40 new hospitals”, there is no firm commitment to go ahead with the work; just a seed-funding commitment to explore the idea. My colleague Gwyn Topham’s story about the plan is here.
As a relatively minor transport announcement, that’s fine, but Shapps is facing criticism today because he is presenting this as part of a plan, first announced during the general election campaign, to reverse the 1960s Beeching cuts that closed more than 4,000 miles of track and more than 2,000 stations (in the era when mass car ownership was taking off, making rail less competitive). Shapps first floated this idea during the general election campaign.
In a highly crowded field, this was seen as one of the most misleading tweets of the general election, because it implied that the Beeching cuts might to totally or largely reversed, when in fact £500m would only pay for a few miles of new track. The government is still giving that impression today. The press release from the Department for Transport says Shapps is making an announcement that “will that will drive forward the reversal of the controversial Beeching cuts”.
Labour says today’s promise is “meaningless” without much more substantial investment. In a statement Andy McDonald, the shadow transport secretary, said:
Later we will get a much more significant investment announcement from the government - the decision about Huawei.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Boris Johnson chairs a meeting of the national security council to decide whether Huawei will be allowed a role in building the UK’s 5G infrastructure.
10am: The migration advisory committee publishes a report on how an Australian-style points-based immigration system could work in the UK.
11.30am: Matt Hancock, the health secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
Afternoon: Ministers are due to make oral statements in parliament about the Huawei decision. Nicky Morgan, the culture secretary, is expected to make the statement in the Lords, but it is not clear yet who will address the Commons.
2.45pm: Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, chairs a meeting of the joint ministerial committee, which includes ministers from the devolved administrations, in Cardiff to discuss Brexit.
3.35pm: Lord Berkeley, former deputy chair of the Oakervee review of HS2, gives evidence to the Lords economic affairs committee.
As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to post a summary when I wrap up.
You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.
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