Boris Johnson has risked the anger of Donald Trump by giving the green signal for Huawei to build the UK’s 5G

Boris Johnson has risked the anger of Donald Trump by giving the green signal for Huawei to build the UK’s 5G and fully fiber broadband networks, but with the restrictions.

The long awaited decision has been made in spite of a last gasp involvement by Washington, which warned vital intelligence sharing with London will be thrown into difficulty.

However, a meeting of the National Security Council has approved the Chinese firm’s involvement but only into the edge of the network and capping its market share at 35 per cent.

The meeting officially designated Huawei for the first time as a high risk vendor, based on criteria together with the legal regime in its home country, its cyber security ability and its past behavior.

But a Whitehall source denied the UK’s security was put at risk, telling the independent that Huawei would be banned from critical parts of “5G” and from nuclear sites and military bases. Ministers have decided to ignore them after being told a ban on Huawei would delay the UK's introduction of 5G and full fiber broadband by two to three years and cost tens of billions of pounds.

Huawei welcomed the decision, saying it was “reassured that we can continue working with our customers to keep the 5G roll-out on track”.

Today's decision doesn't affect our ability to share sensitive intelligence data over secure networks both within the UK and with allies,” the source said.

Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, will confirm the decision in a statement to MPs this afternoon – a day after several senior Conservatives pleaded with him to step back from the go-ahead.

This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future, said the company’s vice-president Victor Zhang.

It gives the UK access to world-leading technology and ensures a competitive market. We have supplied cutting-edge technology to telecoms operators in the UK for more than 15 years.

The UK will now push Western allies and members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing community - the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - to develop non-Chinese alternatives which could reduce reliance on Huawei equipment in the years ahead.

A Whitehall source said: "We are clear-eyed about the challenge posed by Huawei, which we today confirm is a high-risk vendor. Huawei will be banned from those parts of the 5G and full-fibre broadband network that are critical to security. They will also be banned from sensitive locations such as nuclear sites and military bases.