No.10 has defended Boris Johnson’s new communications director after it was reported he had lobbied on behalf of tech giant Huawei.
Guto Harri has been brought into Downing Street as part of an attempt by the prime minister to reset his top team in the wake of the partygate scandal.
Huawei was banned from involvement in the UK’s 5G network in 2020 amid security fears over its links to the Chinese government.
The Sun reported on Monday that Harri was involved trying to persuade British officials not to impose the ban.
At the time he worked for lobbying firm Hawthorn Advisers, which counted the Chinese tech giant among its clients.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said: “He provided advice to the clients of a private company. This is entirely legitimate and in the public domain.
“We wouldn’t exclude from government someone with valuable experience and expertise.
“Our position on Huawei is clear - we have strict controls in the way that Huawei is currently deployed. Anyone coming in goes through requisite checks.”
The spokesperson added: “There are long-standing processes for bringing people into No. 10 and those are all in hand.”
But Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, demanded “full transparency” from Harri “about all contact he had with government in his former role as a lobbyist and who his clients were”.
“We can’t have the revolving door from lobbying to government see potential national security issues arise,” she said.
“It’s vital that anyone entering government service leaves their private sector interests at the door.
“The Cabinet Secretary also needs to make clear that Guto Harri will be subject to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments so when the door revolves for him again, he can’t just pick up lobbying again where he left off.
“The rules are there for a reason and they have to apply to everyone.”