HUAWEI, the Chinese tech giant, has been given the green light by the UK Government to have a limited role in the country’s 5G telecommunications network.

The controversial decision will anger the US, which has lobbied hard against the move, believing it to be a serious security risk. Tomorrow, Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, arrives in London for talks.

One Whitehall insider stressed the Government was “clear-eyed” about the challenge posed by Huawei but insisted a “market failure” meant there was no real alternative provider to Huawei in the foreseeable future.

Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, will give a Commons statement this afternoon when he is expected to feel the wrath of Conservative colleagues, who have warned about the security implications of allowing the Chinese tech giant, which has close ties to the Beijing Government, involvement in Britain’s next generation telecoms system.

On Monday, Tory backbencher Tom Tugendhat raised fears about “allowing a fox into the hen-house when we should be guarding the wire”.

Following a meeting of the National Security Council, the Government said so-called "high-risk vendors" should be allowed to play a peripheral role in the UK's 5G network.

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, agreed that guidance should be issued by the National Cyber Security Centre[NCSC] stating that high-risk vendors should be excluded from:

*all safety-related and safety-critical networks in Critical National Infrastructure;

*security-critical "core" functions, the sensitive part of the network;

*sensitive geographic locations, such as nuclear sites and military bases and

*be limited to a minority presence of no more than 35 per cent in the periphery of the network, known as the access network, which connects devices and equipment to mobile phone masts.

Making the announcement in a written statement, Baroness Morgan, the Digital Secretary, said: "We want world-class connectivity as soon as possible but this must not be at the expense of our national security.

"High-risk vendors never have been and never will be in our most sensitive networks.

"The Government has reviewed the supply chain for telecoms networks and concluded today it is necessary to have tight restrictions on the presence of high-risk vendors.”

She explained this was a “UK-specific solution for UK-specific reasons” and the decision dealt with the challenges the country faced right now.

"It not only paves the way for secure and resilient networks with our sovereignty over data protected but it also builds on our strategy to develop a diversity of suppliers.We can now move forward and seize the huge opportunities of 21st-century technology," added the minister.

Ciaran Martin, the NCSC’s Chief Executive, stressed the decision would ensure that the UK had a very strong, practical and technically sound framework for digital security in the years ahead.

"The National Cyber Security Centre has issued advice to telecoms network operators to help with the industry rollout of 5G and full fibre networks in line with the government's objectives. High-risk vendors have never been - and never will be - in our most sensitive networks.

"Taken together these measures add up to a very strong framework for digital security," declared Mr Martin.

Victor Zhang, Huawei's Vice-President Victor Zhang said his company was “reassured” by the Government's confirmation that it could continue working with its UK customers to keep the 5G roll-out on track.

He explained: "This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future. It gives the UK access to world-leading technology and ensures a competitive market.

"We have supplied cutting-edge technology to telecoms operators in the UK for more than 15 years. We will build on this strong track record, supporting our customers as they invest in their 5G networks, boosting economic growth and helping the UK continue to compete globally.”

Mr Zhang added: "We agree a diverse vendor market and fair competition are essential for network reliability and innovation, as well as ensuring consumers have access to the best possible technology."

In its evaluation, the NCSC stressed it was "important to avoid the situation in which the UK becomes nationally dependent on a particular supplier".

It added: "Without government intervention, the NCSC considers there to be a realistic likelihood that due to commercial factors the UK would become 'nationally dependent' on Huawei within three years."

National dependence on a high-risk vendor would present a "significant national security risk", the NCSC said.

Huawei's role in the UK's telecoms system has been subject to oversight since 2010, including the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre[HCSEC].

The NCSC analysis said: "Due to the UK's mitigation strategy, which includes HCSEC as an essential component, our assessment is that the risk of Trojan functionality in Huawei equipment remains manageable.

"Placing 'back-doors' in any Huawei equipment supplied into the UK is not the lowest risk, easiest to perform or most effective means for the Chinese state to perform a major cyber-attack on UK telecoms networks today."