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Boris Johnson sees off first Tory rebellion in row over Huawei

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The logo of Chinese telecom giant Huawei is pictured during the Web Summit in Lisbon on November 6, 2019. - Europe's largest tech event Web Summit is held at Parque das Nacoes in Lisbon from November 4 to November 7. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP) (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)

Boris Johnson has seen off his first Tory rebellion since the election in a row over Huawei's involvement in Britain's 5G network, writes

The prime minister defeated several of his own backbenchers who were trying to limit the Chinese tech giant's access to infrastructure in the UK to the end of 2022.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden tried to persuade the head of the rebellion - former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith - not to persist with the issue by putting his amendment to a vote in parliament.

Huawei: The company and the security risks explained

Huawei: The company and the security risks explained

But assurances the government wanted to eventually phase out "high-risk vendors" failed to buy him - and other Conservative grandees - off.

Mr Johnson won the vote by 306 to 282 with a majority of 24 - relatively narrow given he has a majority of 80 across the whole of parliament.

Britain...s prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks as he holds a press conference at Downing Street on the government...s coronavirus action plan in London, Tuesday, March 3, 2020.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
The PM scraped through with a majority of 24 - much shorter than the usual 80

Tory MP Bob Seely said he was "surprised" so many colleagues rebelled because the piece of legislation they were trying to amend "was not even the right vehicle".

"It was a strong first showing," he tweeted.

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Tom Tugendhat, another Conservative who chairs the foreign affairs select committee, added he "could not support the government" and urged them to change their minds before the main showdown expected in the summer.

Backbencher Sir Bob Neil added "I could not have put it better myself", while another - Tim Loughton - urged: "We should not be taking these risks with our security."

The row centres over Johnson's decision in January to allow Huawei to supply "non-core" elements of the 5G network.

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