Huawei UK directors Olisa and Cahn quit over stance on Russian invasion

The two British board members of Huawei’s UK subsidiary are to resign over the Chinese telecoms giant’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sky News has learnt that Sir Andrew Cahn and Sir Ken Olisa notified the company on Wednesday that they intend to step down from their positions as non-executive directors.

City sources said the two men had urged Huawei's to issue a public statement through its headquarters in Shenzhen, China, to denounce the Putin administration's actions, to no avail.

Sir Andrew has been associated with Huawei UK since 2011, joining the board in 2015, while Sir Ken became a director in 2018.

The two men are well-respected figures in the British corporate world, with Sir Andrew having run UK Trade & Investment, and Sir Ken serving as the current Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London.

One source insisted that Huawei had historically not commented on matters of external politics.

However, the deluge of corporate statements condemning Russia's actions in recent days meant that the company's silence had effectively left Sir Andrew and Sir Ken in an untenable position.