UK bans Huawei from 5G networks

The United Kingdom will ban Chinese telecommunications company Huawei from supplying kit for 5G networks from the end of this year, the government announced on Tuesday.

UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden said that the government has also committed to the removal of existing Huawei equipment from British networks by 2027.

The move comes as United States sanctions on Huawei, set for activation in September, threaten to disrupt the Chinese company's supply chain.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a meeting with his national security council on Tuesday morning, where he was advised that the sanctions would impact the reliability of Huawei as a 5G provider.

"The UK can no longer be confident it will be able to guarantee the security of future Huawei 5G equipment," Dowden said in Parliament.

"From the end of this year, telecoms operators must not buy any 5G equipment from Huawei."

Dowden conceded that the move would come at great cost to the UK's economy and would significantly hold up 5G development. He estimated that the ban will delay the roll out of 5G in Britain by two to three years at a cost of 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion).

Shadow Digital Secretary Chi Onwurah said the government had created a "car crash for the digital economy" in its handling of Huawei.