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Rh In July 2011, the (then) Prime Minister, David Cameron, approved the appointment, on the advice of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA). However, media reporting at the time suggested that the intelligence Agencies had concerns about the appointment, and that Mr Suffolk was interviewed by the Cabinet Office to discuss these concerns. Indeed, the conditions imposed on his appointment included a requirement for him to "seek advice from the appropriate security authorities … about any risks to the confidentiality of communications resulting from his new appointment which might be of concern to those authorities".

During this Inquiry our predecessor Committee specifically asked the Cabinet Office to provide any assessment or information they hold on whether the Chinese government or ChIS specifically targeted Mr Suffolk for recruitment to Huawei. Our request was refused, on the grounds that "we do not comment on individuals": the response is telling, given that it is not employed as routinely as it might suggest.

Other examples include Sir Andrew Cahn, a former senior civil servant and head of UK Trade and Investment (2006–2011), who in March 2015 was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Huawei's UK subsidiary, having been Chairman of the Huawei UK Advisory Board from 2011 to 2014. At the same time, Lord Browne of Madingley, former Chief Executive Officer of BP and Lead Non-Executive Director at the Cabinet Office(2010–2015), was appointed as an independent Non-Executive Chairman of Huawei UK.

In October 2020, we asked the Acting National Security Adviser whether the ACOBA rules were fit for purpose, given what appeared to be a revolving door between the Government and Huawei, with officials involved in awarding the company contracts being apparently 'rewarded' with jobs. He told us that, across Government, the challenge presented by China meant that structures and processes were being kept under review and that included the ACOBA guidelines. However, he noted that those subject to the guidelines were "often working with companies that we have welcomed to this country and whose investment we have welcomed and that are acting entirely legally here".

In 2019, HMG noted that China was almost certainly seeking to court retired "elites". It would appear that the (state-run) China Association for International Friendly Contact (CAIFC) is one mechanism by which pro-China narratives might be being encouraged amongst this demographic, including amongst former senior military personnel. ***.