- Nirj Deva MEP urged colleagues to support Huawei in EU parliament vote
- Huawei stepping up EU lobbying as leak sacking divides cabinet
- Deva warned previously by EU committee over undeclared China trip
- Conservative MEP also linked to Steve Bannon Italy-based “gladiator school”, and met Bannon in White House
As the ongoing controversy over Huawei engulfs Theresa May’s cabinet, a senior Conservative politician with a controversial lobbying history has emerged as one of the Chinese telecommunications company’s leading advocates in Brussels.
On Wednesday the prime minister sacked her defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, after he was accused of leaking secret discussions about Huawei that suggested May “overruled” senior ministers and security warnings to let the Chinese tech giant help build Britain’s new 5G mobile internet network.
Those concerns do not appear to have resonated with Nirj Deva, a Tory MEP and number two on the party’s list for the upcoming European Parliament elections, who recently urged colleagues to back Huawei in an upcoming vote in Brussels.
