Sacked UK defense secretary denies he leaked Huawei discussions
Former UK defense minister Gavin Williamson has denied that he was behind a leak of government discussions on involvement of Chinese telecommunication company Huawei in UK’s future internet projects, saying his sacking was a politically motivated decision.
In an interview with the Sky News published on Thursday, Williamson said he had no idea how discussions in the National Security Council (NSC) last week in which the government voted to give Huawei a role in building Britain’s 5G network had leaked to the media.
Williamson repeated comments after the NSC meeting and when a government inquiry was launched on the leak that neither he nor his staff at the department of defense had been involved in the controversial leak.
He said he believed his sacking is the settling of a vendetta between him and Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary.
“When I spoke to the prime minister she said I could either resign or be sacked, I said I would not resign because I did not leak this information, so she sacked me,” said the former defense minister, adding, “I have been completely and utterly screwed.”
Williamson was one of five cabinet ministers suspected of leaking the result of the NSC meeting on Huawei partnership to the Daily Telegraph, a newspaper close to the ruling Conservative Party.
The young Tory lawmaker was quite known in his time in office for adopting stances that favored the United States, a country which has been campaigning against Huawei while trying to persuade allies like Britain that the company could become a tool in the hands of the Chinese spying services.
Williamson’s sacking came after US authorities openly warned that they would end sharing sensitive intelligence with the UK if the country allows Huawei to have a role in its future 5G network.
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