The UK is free to decide about Huawei – but it’ll come at a cost

Editorial: In an ideal world, we’d avoid having to make such a choice. That it’s such an uncomfortable one is an illustration of the challenges we will increasingly face after Brexit

A huge decision faces the United Kingdom: should it allow Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant, to continue to have a role in building the country’s 5G mobile network?

It is in the first instance a decision about technology. But it is also one about national security. And, perhaps most crucially, it is about the UK’s future relationship with the US.

The decision is expected to be announced today and the country seems set to allow Huawei to continue to have a limited role in supplying equipment. It will be a decision that the government will need to defend. Sir Keir Starmer, the front-running candidate for the Labour leadership, has called for the prime minister to justify his decision in parliament.