Has France been naive in its handling of Huawei?

The controversy over the UK’s use of Huawei equipment in its 5G network has not abated, despite the government’s announcement that the Chinese manufacturer’s equipment will be stripped from the network by 2027. Conservative MPs continue to be unsatisfied by this half-way house, claiming that Britain will remain vulnerable to ‘back-door’ espionage by the Chinese state. They carry on threatening the government with an embarrassing, albeit symbolic, rebellion.

But it is no secret that the real pressure to abandon Huawei equipment comes principally, and forcefully, from the UK’s ‘Five Eyes’ partners. The ‘Five Eyes’ network dates back to the Second World War and comprises the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It is the most sophisticated signals intelligence network in the world and allows Britain – via the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) – to seriously punch above its weight in intelligence gathering and analysis. Given the level of integration of ‘Five Eyes’, any breach of one could potentially compromise all.