5G Network and Huawei Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Daisy Cooper
Main Page: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)Department Debates - View all Daisy Cooper's debates with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
(4 years, 11 months ago)
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Matt Warman
There are a number of questions there. My hon. Friend is right to allude to the fact that there are alternatives to Huawei, and we would of course seek to use them as much as possible. He is right to say that we have to consider the unique nature of a 5G network, and that is precisely what our agencies will do when they offer advice to Government. He is also right to say that we have to look at this decision in the round, and that is what we will do.
Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD)
In addition to legitimate security concerns, the human rights implications of granting access must not be ignored. Huawei has been implicated in mass oppression in China, selling infrastructure that has allowed it to build a surveillance state and disseminate disinformation and racially charged propaganda. To ensure that we continue to defend human rights here and abroad, what steps will the Government take to ensure that all foreign firms wanting to bid for public contracts in the UK or run critical infrastructure are subject to the most stringent human rights impact assessments and also that those assessments consider information provided by our key allies, including the Five Eyes alliance?