UK to give spy agency greater role at Huawei cyber centre

London: British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday an internal review had shown the government needed to enhance its oversight of a cyber security centre in southern England run by Chinese telecoms firm Huawei.

Huawei supplies software and equipment which channels phone calls and data around Britain, but has found itself at the centre of a debate, particularly in the United States, over whether it is a risk for governments to allow foreign suppliers access to their networks.

The British government ordered a review of Huawei's cyber security centre in July after parliament's intelligence committee said UK security checks were "insufficiently robust" when Huawei began working on the country's network.

Cameron said in a written statement to parliament on Tuesday that his national security adviser had concluded that the government should enhance its oversight of the Huawei facility and that the GCHQ spy agency should take leading role in future senior appointments there.

Huawei opened the cyber security centre, known as The Cell, in southern England in 2010 to test the security of its software and hardware to ensure that they didn't expose Britain's network to outside hacking or spying.

Huawei, which has always denied wrongdoing and said its work is secure, welcomed Cameron's statement. It said it was pleased that the review had shown it was operating effectively and that it supported the review's recommendations.