Chinese company at centre of espionage and sanctions-busting claims… race to rescue stricken British yachtswoman … and clampdown on ‘golden visas’
Top story: Chinese technology company on the outer
Hello, Warren Murray here tapping the rich seam of Thursday’s news.
BT has confirmed it is removing equipment supplied by Huawei from key areas of its 4G network after the head of MI6 raised concerns. Meanwhile Canada has arrested the Chinese company’s chief financial officer for sanctions violations.
The CFO arrested in Canada is Meng Wanzhou, daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei. US authorities are understood to have been investigating Huawei since 2016 for allegedly shipping US-origin products to Iran and other countries in violation of export restrictions.
This week the head of MI6 suggested the UK needed to decide if it was “comfortable” with Chinese ownership of the technology being used. Governments in the US, New Zealand and Australia have moved to block the use of Huawei’s equipment as part of their 5G rollout. Zhengfei is a former officer in the People’s Liberation Army. A recent report to the US congress said the Chinese government could force suppliers and manufacturers to manipulate their products for “state or corporate espionage”. Huawei denies any improper links to the Chinese government.
‘Taking a hammering!’ – Efforts are under way to rescue a British solo yachtswoman who narrowly survived a violent storm in the Southern Ocean. Susie Goodall, 29, is the youngest competitor and only woman in the 30,000-mile Golden Globe round-the-world race. Her yacht, DHL Starlight, was rolled end over end and and lost its mast on Wednesday night UK time. “I was thrown across the cabin and knocked out for a while,” she told race HQ by satellite phone.
“The boat is destroyed. I can’t make up a jury rig. The only thing left is the hull and deck which remain intact.” She was left “beaten up and badly bruised” with cuts and scratches and had a big bump on her head. Race organisers say they are working with other competitors and Chilean authorities have alerted shipping but reaching her position could take several days.
Lock, backstop and PM over barrel – Theresa May has offered a “parliamentary lock” on the Brexit backstop after legal advice warned her proposed deal could leave the UK trapped in “protracted and repeated rounds of negotiations” for years to come. The lock would give MPs a vote before the backstop could be invoked. Hard Brexiters have dismissed the proposal. The Unite union leader, Len McCluskey, has privately told Labour MPs that trying to get another referendum could be seen as a betrayal by voters who want curbs on immigration and the use of immigrant labour. Amid continuing debate in the Commons, Sam Gyimah, who resigned as a junior education minister last week, explained why he could not support the deal with an analogy that fell at the final hurdle. “This is like shoes that have holes in the soles: this deal is fatally flawed.”
Golden visa rules tightened – The foreign super-rich are to face new restrictions on buying their way into the UK as part of attempts to tackle money laundering and organised crime. From next year, applicants for the tier 1 “golden visa” scheme must show the money trail behind the £2m in investment funds that they are required to put up. They will no longer be able to invest in government bonds as part of the reforms, and must invest in active and trading UK companies. The scheme has been suspended until the new rules are put in place. Golden visas have been criticised for providing an easy route into the UK for individuals looking to launder stolen wealth.
