Ex-MI6 chief Richard Dearlove voices fears over Guto Harri’s links to Huawei

UK government's new spin chief lobbied No 10 on behalf of Chinese telecoms group in 2020

Guto Harri, the UK prime minister’s new director of communications, leaves No 10 Downing Street in London. Bloomberg

Guto Harri, the British prime minister’s new director of communications, should declare any recent contact with Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, a former head of MI6 has said.

The call issued by Sir Richard Dearlove on Tuesday came after leaked minutes of a meeting suggested Mr Harri had lobbied the government on behalf of the Chinese company.

UK government employees are subject to a vetting process on appointment that provides clearance to access. the highest levels of intelligence. Mr Harri’s recent contact with his clients and a list of his past associations with tech bosses would fall within the remitment of this review. Mr Dearlove, who led the Secret Intelligence Service from 1999 to 2004, said Mr Harri should also lay bare his true feelings about Huawei.

His intervention came only days after The Sun reported that the government’s new spin chief had asked former chief of staff Sir Eddie Lister which ministers he should “nudge” to stave off a Huawei ban.

During a 25-minute video call on June 2, 2020, Mr Harri had represented public relations company Hawthorn Advisors. Huawei executives, as well as Lord Udny-Lister, then-chief strategic adviser to Mr Johnson, were also present.

But despite Mr Harri’s efforts on behalf of the foreign company, weeks later ministers ordered a ban on Huawei equipment from being used in Britain's 5G network by 2027, citing fears of intelligence being compromised.

Mr Dearlove said he hoped Mr Harri had since changed his stance on Huawei. Huawei was banned from building the UK’s 5G network in 2020 over concerns about its links to the Chinese Communist Party.

“I hope he has distanced himself from Huawei, has not recently been in receipt of their money and has changed his view as the government’s policy has changed.”

Downing Street confirmed on Tuesday that the meeting had taken place but the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said it was “within the rules” and “obviously we met with a number of interested parties at that time while that discussion was taking place”.

Minutes of the meeting obtained by The Sun suggested Lord Udny-Lister said Mr Johnson was not “anti-China” and did not favour a Huawei ban but was “caught” between that instinct and US and Tory pressure.

“We want the technology, we want it rolled out. There’s an American concern and a parliamentary concern,” he reportedly said in the meeting.

“There are a large number of MPs across the political divide who have a problem with China. Some are Atlanticists, some over Covid, some over Hong Kong, some over human rights.”

Mr Harri had asked if there were “any ­ministers we should talk to? Perhaps give a nudge in DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) or Treasury?”, the minutes said.

In response to the leaked documents, Downing Street on Tuesday said Mr Johnson had described himself as a “Sinophile” but the government had a “clear-eyed” approach to Beijing.

“It’s in the UK’s interest to have an effective relationship with China,” the prime minister’s official spokesman said.

“That needs to be clear eyed, as the Integrated Review [of foreign and defence policy] makes clear. We need to be able to address disagreements in a frank manner and address some of the challenges that China can pose. And that’s what the prime minister does.”

Mr Harri, who was appointed on Saturday, said Mr Johnson sang I Will Survive during their first meeting the previous day. The prime minister has weathered several storms in recent weeks including the ‘partygate’ scandal and his recent slur against Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Mr Harri, a former BBC journalist, described how Mr Johnson launched into a rendition of Gloria Gaynor's hit song after he asked the prime minister if he could survive.

Mr Harri told the Welsh-language news website Golwg360 that the prime minister is “not a complete clown”.

“I walked in and I made a salute and said, 'Prime minister, Guto Harri reporting for duty' and he stood up from back to his desk and started taking the salute”, Mr Harri said in comments translated from Welsh to English.

“We were both laughing. Then I asked, 'Are you going to survive, Boris?', and he said it in his deep voice, slowly and purposefully, and started singing a little while finishing the sentence and saying I Will Survive.

“He invited me to say, 'You've got all your life to live' and he replied, 'I've got all my love to give', so we had a little blast of Gloria Gaynor.”