AN MP has justified his decision to rebel against the Prime Minister over plans to involve the Chinese firm Huawei in the UK’s 5G network.

Henry Smith, MP for Crawley, was among 38 Tory politicians who voted against the Government yesterday as Boris Johnson faced his first rebellion from his own MPs since winning the General Election in December.

They raised concerns that a British 5G network built by Huawei could jeopardise national security because of the firm’s ties to the Chinese state.

Their move reflects widespread misgivings in the party over the decision, with fears that it could give China a “back door” to spy on the UK’s network.

Along with East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton, Mr Smith was one of two Sussex Conservative MPs to back an amendment to end Huawei’s role in the project by the start of 2023.

Other Sussex MPs who voted against the Government included Labour’s Peter Kyle and Lloyd Russell-Moyle, as well as the Greens' Caroline Lucas.

Sussex MPs who voted with the Government included the Conservatives’ Caroline Ansell, Peter Bottomley, Mims Davies, Maria Caulfield, Nus Ghani, Nick Gibb, Andrew Griffith, Sally-Ann Hart, Gillian Keegan, Huw Merriman, and Jeremy Quin.

Mr Smith said he had spoken out as an “act of conscience”.

He said: “I have concerns that Huawei, which is controlled by the communist party of the People’s Republic of China, poses a security risk for a key piece of national infrastructure like 5G.

“Other countries have expressed concerns about Huawei’s involvement too.

“I think the risk is too great and we need to be developing this kind of technology ourselves.”

America and Australia have banned Huawei from their own networks and The White House has been highly critical of the Government’s decision, which came despite intense lobbying from the States.

Mr Smith was optimistic the Prime Minister would reconsider his position and said the rebellion sent “a message to the Government that they need to take another look at this”.

“I’ve rebelled in the past,” he said. “It’s not an aggressive act, it’s an act of conscience.”

Tory MP Tim Loughton was also outspoken. In an address ahead of Tuesday’s vote, he said: “I don’t think the Chinese should be anywhere near our mobile phones.

“It’s causing serious problems with intelligence sharing with our allies.”

Huawei has hit back at what it described as “groundless” allegations made by politicians.

The company’s vice president Victor Zhang said: “An evidence-based approach is needed, so we were disappointed to hear some groundless accusations asserted.

“The industry and experts agree that banning Huawei equipment would leave Britain less secure, less productive and less innovative.”

Boris Johnson was able to fend off the rebellion by 24 votes thanks to the 80-strong majority he secured in the December general election.

But commentators have suggested the dissent in the party is a worrying sign for the Prime Minister.

Among the rebels’ ranks, there were a number of senior Tories, including former party leader Iain Duncan Smith, former Cabinet ministers Damian Green and David Davis, former housing minister Esther McVeyCommons Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat and Tory backbench 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady.