Huawei leak "unacceptable" - Government
Culture minister Jeremy Wright said he could not rule out a criminal investigation over the "unacceptable" disclosure of confidential discussions on the role of Huawei.
It's over the 5G network supply chains.
Huawei, the world's biggest producer of telecoms equipment, is under intense scrutiny after the United States told allies not to use its technology because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has categorically denied this.
Sources told Reuters on Wednesday Britain's National Security Council (NSC) had decided to bar Huawei from all core parts of the country's 5G network and restrict its access to non-core parts.
The leak of information from a meeting of the NSC, first reported in national newspapers, has sparked anger in parliament because the committee's discussion are supposed to be secret.
"We cannot exclude the possibility of a criminal investigation here," Wright said, speaking in response to an urgent question on Huawei in parliament.
"I do not think that the motivation for this leak matters in the slightest. This was unacceptable and it is corrosive to the ability to deliver good government."
Wright said that such leaks endangered the ability of the committee, made up of senior ministers and which hears regularly from intelligence agency bosses, to get unequivocal and frank security advice from experts.
Published: by Radio NewsHub