LONDON (Reuters) – The United Kingdom will ultimately have to side with the United States when it comes to a decision on allowing China’s Huawei Technologies a role in its 5G network, former Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday.
British officials are currently reviewing how best to securely deploy Huawei equipment in the country’s 5G networks, after granting the Chinese firm a limited role in January.
Asked about Huawei at a Reuters Newsmaker event, Blair said: “I think we do need to make a call and I think it has got to be pro-U.S. in the end.”
Blair said that one of the issues was that Huawei infrastructure was a lot cheaper than alternatives.
“One of the extraordinary things about 5G is that the West has in a way just allowed this advantage, this superiority to be gained,” Blair said. “It is very hard for us not to be with the U.S. on anything that touches U.S. security,” he added.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Michael Holden)
