Boris Johnson news: PM risks wrath of Trump by approving Huawei 5G role, as plan for Australian-style immigration system rejected
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Boris Johnson has risked the fury of Donald Trump by giving the go-ahead for Huawei to help build the UK’s 5G infrastructure – but only the “periphery of the network”, and capping the Chinese tech giant’s market share at 35 per cent.
It comes as the PM’s proposal for an Australian-style points-based immigration system for the bulk of migrants has been rejected by a government-commissioned review. It also recommended ministers lower a £30,000 salary threshold.
A new Brexit row with the EU has also emerged, with a leaked document indicating Brussels is set to demand the European Court of Justice (ECJ) enforces trade deal rules. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said the UK could “not accept” such a move.
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Government urged to cut £30,000 salary threshold for migrants
A major review into government immigration plans has essentially rejected Boris Johnson’s proposal for an “Australian-style” points-based system for the bulk of migrants.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) – which provides independent, evidence-based advice to the government – has made a string of recommendations, including cutting the £30,000 earnings threshold.
The report recommends the PM should reduce the salary threshold for skilled migrants to £25,600 – dropping the existing £30,000 limit by £4,400 for those coming to the UK with a job offer.
Teachers and skilled NHS workers “would continue to benefit from lower salary thresholds”. But a higher threshold should be kept for higher paid occupations, the report also recommends.
The review recommended the use of points - earned on factors like age, qualifications and previous study in the UK - only for more highly-skilled migrants without a job offer.
Committee chairman Alan Manning said: “The government should ensure that the mistakes of previous UK points-based systems are not repeated.”
‘We will always be allies’, say UK’s Europe minister
Europe minister Christopher Pincher, taking part in the last scheduled ministerial meeting in Brussels before the UK’s exit from the EU, said it was a “historic week”.
He told reporters: “I’m here to reassert to my EU friends and colleagues that, though we are leaving the EU, we are not leaving Europe.
“Our shared history, our shared values, our commitment to security and prosperity continue as equals - sovereign equals.
“I’m looking forward to talking to my colleagues here today, reasserting those values and assuring them that as we leave the EU we will always be allies, partners and friends.”
National Security Council meets in Downing Street
Ministers have started arriving for the big National Security Council (NSC) meeting – with Boris Johnson expected to confirm his decision on Huawei’s role in the 5G network.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace was seen arriving at the security cabinet meeting with Major General Nick Carter – the chief of defence staff.
Ben Wallace and Major General Nick Carter (Getty)
Starmer pledges ‘reset’ in relationship with Scottish Labour
Labour’s policy on independence must not be imposed on the party in Scotland, the frontrunner to succeed Jeremy Corbyn has said.
Sir Keir Starmer said it was time to “reset the relationship between UK Labour and Scottish Labour”.
Writing in the Daily Record newspaper, he said: “It’s self-evident Scotland’s relationship with the UK cannot rest on the status quo. There is deadlock when we need change.
“Labour must change, too. We have to reset the relationship between UK Labour and Scottish Labour. Our constitutional position will be made, not imposed. It's not for Scotland alone that change must come.”
He stressed: “I don’t want Scotland to leave the UK. I profoundly believe in solidarity across borders.”
Starmer also called for a federal solution and pledged to push for a UK-wide constitutional convention to be established.
Party bosses in London have previously been accused of treating Labour in Scotland like a “branch office”. While Scottish Labour has been opposed to a second referendum, Jeremy Corbyn caused a storm when he said in 2017 it would be “absolutely fine”.
More recently, both Corbyn and his shadow chancellor John McDonnell made clear they would not stand in the way of another ballot on independence – saying only it should not take place in the early years of a Labour government (had they won the election).
Keir Starmer speaking at West Ham town hall (PA)
UK-US trade deal: the obstacles in the way
As the National Security Council (NSC) discusses Huawei’s role in the nation’s 5G infrastructure, our political editor Andrew Woodcock has taken a look at the range of issues putting Boris Johnson’s government at odds with the US – from healthcare to chicken dinners.
Almost 80 per cent of Tory members opposed to Huawei role in 5G
A survey by ConservativeHome website shows Tory supporters are not happy at the idea of Huawei getting a role in Britain’s 5G network.
More than 77 per cent said of party members surveyed by the influential blog said the government should not allow the Chinese tech giant build the infrastructure, while only 13 per cent said the government should allow it.
Survey of Tory members (ConservativeHome)
UK to resist EU demand for European Court of Justice to govern trade deal
Our Europe correspondent Jon Stone has more on the row over the EU’s desire for the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to have a say over UK trade with the bloc after Brexit.
It looks as if the UK will resist any demand for the ECJ to have a continued role and effectively give it continued power over the UK. Downing Street is said to regard the court as “by very definition not a neutral arbiter”.
All the details here:
PM risks wrath of Trump by approving Huawei to help build 5G network
Boris Johnson has given the go-ahead for Huawei to help build the UK’s 5G network – but with restrictions.
“Ministers today determined that UK operators should put in place additional safeguards and exclude high risk vendors from parts of the telecoms network that acre critical to security.”
A Whitehall source denied the UK’s security was being put at risk, telling The Independent that Huawei would be banned from “critical” parts of 5G and from nuclear sites and military bases.
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has all the details:
Huawei leading the 5G patent race
The US has been trying to persuade Boris Johnson’s government they could collaborate on building new 5G infrastructure. But Huawei remains a world leader on the technology.
The Chinese tech company has filed the most patents for 5G technology – more than Nokia, Samsung and Ericson.
Our friends at Statista have taken a look at the patent field.
Companies which have filed the most 5G technology patents (The Independent / Statista)
Huawei will face ‘tight restrictions’ over 5G, says culture secretary
Culture secretary Baroness Morgan has claimed the government’s green light for Huawei decision will “not be at the expense of our national security”.
The culture secretary stated: “High risk vendors never have been and never will be in our most sensitive networks.
“The government has reviewed the supply chain for telecoms networks and concluded today it is necessary to have tight restrictions on the presence of high risk vendors.
“This is a UK-specific solution for UK-specific reasons and the decision deals with the challenges we face right now. It not only paves the way for secure and resilient networks, with our sovereignty over data protected, but it also builds on our strategy to develop a diversity of suppliers.
“We can now move forward and seize the huge opportunities of 21st-century technology.”
Ciaran Martin, the chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, added: “This package will ensure that the UK has a very strong, practical and technically sound framework for digital security in the years ahead.”
Baroness Morgan at No 10 earlier on Tuesday (EPA)
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