U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May Fires Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson Over Huawei Leak
Leak relates to government review into using Chinese company’s equipment in U.K.’s 5G network
British Prime Minister Theresa May fired Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson on Wednesday, saying he leaked sensitive information surrounding a review into the use of equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies Co. in the U.K.’s telecoms network.
The government’s decision to use Huawei in some parts of the country’s 5G network was leaked to the press following a meeting of Britain’s National Security Council last week. The U.S. has pressed its allies to not use Huawei equipment, saying it is a security threat, an accusation the telecommunications company denies.
In a letter to Mr. Williamson, Mrs. May said a probe into the leak had led the government to conclude that he was the source of the information.
“The Prime Minister’s decision has been informed by his conduct surrounding an investigation into the circumstances of the unauthorized disclosure of information from a meeting of the National Security Council,” a government spokesman said in a statement Wednesday.
The government is set to officially announce the results of its inquiry into Huawei in due course. Mr. Williamson has been head of the defense ministry since late 2017. Before that he was a Conservative whip in Parliament.
In a letter to the prime minister, Mr. Williamson said he “strenuously denied” being the source of the leak. In her letter, Mrs. May said “no other, credible version of events to explain this leak has been identified.”
The firing comes after months of briefings to journalists from supposedly confidential cabinet meetings as Mrs. May struggles to discipline Conservative ministers. Her status as head of a minority government leaves her with little political clout over members of her own party who have been engaging in a war of words over how best to push through a Brexit deal.
After the nearly unprecedented leak from Britain’s NSC, however, the head of the civil service was ordered to investigate who was the source of the information.
Mr. Williamson took a hard line on China at the ministry of defense. In February he announced, without Mrs. May’s blessing, that a new British aircraft carrier would take its maiden voyage in the Pacific Ocean. He also talked of bulking up military bases in Asia as part of projecting Britain’s military power after Brexit.
Before his promotion to defense secretary in 2017, the 42-year-old was a close ally of Mrs. May, first helping to manage her 2016 campaign to become leader of the Conservative Party and then as the Conservatives’ chief whip in Parliament. He was known at the time as an astute political operator who kept a pet tarantula in his office.
Mrs. May recently set Mr. Williamson the task of getting the government’s Northern Irish political allies, the Democratic Unionist Party. to back her Brexit deal. The effort failed and Brexit has been delayed.
In recent months, Mr. Williamson has been one of many Conservative ministers trying to position themselves as Mrs. May’s successor. The prime minister has promised to quit if her Brexit deal passes.
The Huawei decision is a particularly delicate one for the British government. It doesn’t want to antagonize the U.S., which has repeatedly warned about an overreliance on Huawei equipment, nor alienate China, an important future commercial partner.
The decision reached at the leaked NSC meeting was for Huawei to be given access to build less-sensitive parts of Britain’s 5G telecoms network. Mrs. May has faced steep criticism from some Conservatives over the proposed move, who say it is risky. Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative lawmaker, berated Mrs. May Wednesday for allowing a Chinese “dragon to nest” in the heart of the U.K.’s telecom network.
During a hearing with lawmakers on Wednesday, Mrs. May sought to temper fears that Huawei was an extension of China’s security apparatus by saying it was owned by its employees.
The government said Penny Mordaunt, the secretary of state for international development, would succeed Mr. Williamson, becoming the country’s first female defense secretary.