'The US sees this as a huge slap in the face': Liz Truss grilled over Huawei decision
28 January 2020, 17:39
The International Trade Secretary was grilled over the Government's decision to defy Trump by allowing Huawei to help build the UK's 5G network.
Tom Swarbick said to International Trade Secretary Liz Truss: "You're job has just got a heck of a lot tougher, hasn't it? Trying to secure that US trade deal.
"They see this as a huge slap in the face to them."
Truss replied that it was a "decision for the UK to make" and it's been on the "best security advice".
Tom Swarbrick read her the criticism by US politicians. He asked how she'd be able to bring the US on side.
She's "confident that we'll be able to secure a good deal with the US" and would "walk away" if that was not possible.
Despite Tom pushing her on security concerns, she remained adamant. Truss said: "We have made a clear and sober decision based on the advice of our security services."
Tom continued to grill her on China as a security threat.
She said: "We are very concerned about high threat vendors who have deep involvement with the Chinese state."
Tom pressed her on the high risk security threat further.
You can watch the full interview at the top of the article.
