It would not be a huge surprise if the use of a borrowed Huawei phone was deliberate, intended to drive an inevitable social media storm given the timing. The U.K. has been firmly in Washington’s sights on Huawei given its heavy use of the Chinese giant’s network equipment. Until the U.S. blacklisted the Chinese giant over allegations of state control and national security risks, Huawei was a shoe-in for heavy involvement in the U.K.’s next generation network deployments. The relationship between Johnson and Trump has prompted significant media interest, with the U.K. General Election just a week away. Meanwhile, Johnson’s use of a Huawei phone has shifted the narrative from the serious to the trivial.

Source: Forbes December 05, 2019 18:55 UTC