Ex-Defence Secretary Calls For Criminal Investigation Into Huawei Leak

25 April 2019, 15:44 | Updated: 25 April 2019, 15:45

Former Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has called for a criminal investigation into the “appalling” leak of secret discussions from the National Security Council (NSC).

Details of information involving the UK’s new 5G telecoms network and Chinese firm Huawei emerged yesterday following newspaper reports.

The NSC, which is chaired by the Prime Minister, agreed on Tuesday to allow the firm limited access to build "noncore" infrastructure such as antennas, according to The Daily Telegraph.

But, there are warnings of potential threats to national security by involving them.

Sir Michael, who spent over three years on the NSC, said the leaks of top secret talks were unprecedented.

“This is extremely dangerous,” he told Tom Swarbrick.

“We wouldn’t want terrorists to know how we are dealing with them here. We wouldn’t want Russia to know what steps we are taking to defend ourselves.

“It’s just appalling that this leak has taken place and it needs to be investigated urgently.”

He added: “The police should be called in to investigate. It’s extremely important to find out who did this.”