Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Huawei: Government wins vote after backbench rebellion

Huawei: Government wins vote after backbench rebellion

The government has defeated the first rebellion from its own MPs over plans to allow Huawei to be used in the UK's 5G mobile network.

Thirty-eight Conservative rebels backed an amendment to end the Chinese firm's participation in the project by the start of 2023.

Despite promises from the government of a new bill to address their concerns, rebel MPs pushed their plan to a vote.

But with a large Commons majority, the government defeated it by 24 votes.

Culture Minister Matt Warman said the government had heard the points "loud and clear".

He added: "We will now engage intensively with colleagues across the House to make sure that we will make our case at every possible level…and we will underline that we will always put national security at the very top of our agenda."

The use of Huawei technology in the 5G network was signed off by No 10 and security experts earlier this year, with the caveats of keeping the kit out of the most sensitive areas and capping its market share at 35%.

But Tory critics say the firm is an arm of the Chinese state and a risk to UK security - claims the firm rejects.

Other countries, including the US and Australia, have banned Huawei from their own networks and criticised the UK's decision.

After the Commons vote, Huawei vice president Victor Zhang, said: "An evidence-based approach is needed, so we were disappointed to hear some groundless accusations asserted.

"The industry and experts agree that banning Huawei equipment would leave Britain less secure, less productive and less innovative."

A group of Tory MPs, led by the party's former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, put forward an amendment to the Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill to try and stop Huawei's involvement.

The amendment would have seen firms classified as "high-risk vendors" by the National Cyber Security Centre be banned entirely from the UK's 5G project by 31 December 2022.

Sir Iain said he and his colleagues were "genuinely concerned that this country has got itself far too bound in to a process in which we are reliant on untrusted vendors".

Speaking in the Commons, the backbencher accused the Chinese government of spending 20 years "underbidding" other technology firms until Huawei dominated the market, and the outcome was a risk to the UK's security.

He said using Huawei's technology was a "statement of absence of thought by any government", adding: "If defence of the realm is our number one priority, then this becomes demi-defence of the realm, and I am simply not prepared to put up with that."

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden tried to reassure the group of backbenchers with the promise of bringing forward a Telecoms Security Bill before the summer recess "so all honourable members will be able to debate these points extensively".

He also said the government wanted to work with its Five Eyes security partners - including the US - on alternative solutions so the UK could "get to a position where we do not have to use high-risk vendors at all".

But Mr Dowden could not give a timetable for the exclusion of such companies, except to say it would be "in this Parliament" - meaning within the next five years.

As a result, Sir Iain pushed his amendment to a vote, marking the first Tory rebellion against the government since Boris Johnson won the election in December.

However, while 282 MPs from across the House voted in favour of the amendment, 306 MPs voted against, defeating it.

There were 38 Conservative MPs who rebelled against their government by voting for the amendment - including former international trade secretary Liam Fox, ex-Brexit secretary David Davis and former housing minister Esther McVey.

Conservative MP and Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, Tom Tugendhat, also voted in favour of the amendment, saying he did "not get the commitments" he wanted from the government.

"I am sorry that I could not support the government. I hope the policy will change before we come to the main Telecoms Security Bill before the summer."

The Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill later passed without needing a vote.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×