Downing Street has moved to quell speculation that Huawei will be linked to impending trade negotiations with the US.
Mick Mulvaney, the acting chief of staff at the White House, visited Number Ten this week to discuss the issue of controversial Chinese firm Huawei being used in the UK’s 5G network with the prime minister's advisers.
Following the meeting, a Downing Street source informed the Telegraph that “the Americans impressed upon us that the free trade agreement is going to have to be part of this Huawei discussion”, something which Number Ten has now denied.
Mulvaney had said earlier this week during a speech at the Oxford Union that giving Huawei access to the network would have a “direct and dramatic impact” on intelligence sharing between the UK and US.
Robert Strayer, the US deputy assistant secretary for cyber and communications, has also issued a similar warning.
Strayer told the BBC this week: "If countries adopt untrustworthy vendors in 5G technology, it will jeopardise our ability to share information at the highest levels.”
Iain Duncan Smith has since aimed criticism at the civil service over its advice to the prime minister on giving Huawei permission to have limited access to the 5G network, saying that it had made a mistake in doing so.
Duncan-Smith added that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the US subsequently attempted to link Huawei to the post-Brexit trade talks.
US vice-president Mike Pence said last month that the Trump administration was "profoundly disappointed" with the UK's decision on Huawei, and that it "remains a real issue between our two countries".
