New Delhi: The United Kingdom (UK) has banned its companies from sourcing 5G equipment from Chinese telecom company Huawei. The move comes despite Beijing’s threat to retaliate to any such action by Britain.

UK’s media secretary Oliver Dowden made the announcement after meeting, chaired by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson of his cabinet and the National Security Council. Mr Dowden told British parliament that from the end of this year, telecoms providers must not buy any 5G equipment from Huawei.

UK operators to remove Huawei equipments by 2027

The new guidelines require the British telecom operators to remove all 5G-related equipment, supplied by the Chinese company, from their infrastructure by 2027.

Huawei urged the United Kingdom government to reconsider the move, and said that London had reacted to pressure from the United States instead of acting on actual security concerns. “I think this is clear this is not about security this is about trade,” Huawei’s UK Communications Director Ed Brewster told BBC.

Brewster also refuted speculations about China’s influence on the company’s functioning, adding that it was a private technology firm.

Huawei barred in UK under US pressure?

Reports suggest that the United States has been pushing its allies nations to impose restrictions/ban on Chinese digital equipments, arguing that the Chinese company poses a threat to the national security.

In May, Donald Trump govt had introduced sanctions that disrupted Huawei’s ability to get its chips manufactured.

The US claims that the company allows China to surveillance and potentially attack countries that use its equipment.