"The British public deserve to have access to the best possible technology," said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on U.S.-Huawei dispute, adding opponents of Huawei need to suggest alternatives.
In his interview with BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, he stressed that "we want to put in gigabit broadband for everybody. Now if people oppose one brand or another then they have to tell us what's the alternative."
Johnson's comments come amid a continuing delay to the announcement about whether or not the UK will allow the Chinese company to play a role in developing parts of its 5G network.
On Monday, a U.S. delegation comprising representatives from the National Economic Council and National Security Agency was said to have a meeting with its UK counterparts in London, lobbying against Huawei's involvement and claiming that U.S.-UK intelligence sharing link would be jeopardized if the company is in.
Andrew Parker, head of UK's national counter-intelligence and security agency MI5, told the Financial Times that he has "no reason to think" that the UK would lose out on intelligence relationships with the U.S. if the government decided to go ahead with Huawei.
"I didn't think this was a danger," he added.
A Huawei spokesperson made a response to Johnson's comments, saying Huawei is confident the U.K. government will make its decision based upon evidence, as opposed to unsubstantiated allegations.
Meanwhile, Beijing has put pressure on Johnson's government, urging UK to make its own choice based on its own interests. "Britain should provide a fair, just, open and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises," said China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang on Wednesday during a regular press briefing when asked about Huawei's issue in the UK.
"I think this will also help Chinese companies to maintain their confidence and expectations to the UK market," he said.
Last month at NATO Summit, Johnson told he didn't want the UK to be hostile to foreign investment. But he also added that "we cannot prejudice our vital national security interests, nor can we prejudice our ability to cooperate with other Five Eyes (U.S., New Zealand, Australia and Canada) security partners."
