A British man has died in Florida while in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency confirmed to the BBC.
Ben James Owen, 39, was found unresponsive in his cell on 25 January and is believed to have taken his own life.
Owen was arrested on 12 January on several charges including aggravated stalking and domestic assault.
ICE said the cause of death was still under investigation.
Owen entered the US lawfully but overstayed his visa, which was valid until 10 December 2019. He was awaiting deportation proceedings at the time of his death, ICE told the BBC.
He was arrested in Port Orange, Florida and charged with felony aggravated stalking, false imprisonment, domestic assault and violating the conditions of his pre-trial release. He was then transferred to ICE custody on 15 January.
Owen was also awaiting trial on a different domestic battery charge from November 2019.
ICE said his next of kin had been notified of his death, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and the UK consulate. The agency said that members of its senior leadership would conduct a "comprehensive review" of the incident.
"ICE is firmly committed to the health and welfare of all those in its custody and is undertaking a comprehensive agency-wide review of this incident, as it does in all such cases," the agency said in a statement.
"Fatalities in ICE custody, statistically, are exceedingly rare and occur at a fraction of the national average for the US detained population," it added.
According to agency data, eight individuals died last year while in ICE custody. Owen's death was the third apparent detainee suicide since October - the beginning of the current fiscal year.
The agency has faced criticism and calls for investigations into conditions at its facilities. A report last July from the Homeland Security Office of Inspector General warned of "dangerous overcrowding" at the US-Mexico border, noting that some adults were held for up to a week in facilities that were standing room only.
President Donald Trump has made immigration a key part of his re-election bid, leading to a rise in ICE detentions. At the southern border, US border patrol apprehended more than 850,000 migrants in 2019 - the highest annual number in the last decade.
Last year, more than 50,000 individuals were detained. The average length of stay in ICE custody also rose from previous years, leading to serious overcrowding issues in ICE detention facilities.
A British man has died in Florida while in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency confirmed to the BBC.
Ben James Owen, 39, was found unresponsive in his cell on 25 January and is believed to have taken his own life.
Owen was arrested on 12 January on several charges including aggravated stalking and domestic assault.
ICE said the cause of death was still under investigation.
Owen entered the US lawfully but overstayed his visa, which was valid until 10 December 2019. He was awaiting deportation proceedings at the time of his death, ICE told the BBC.
He was arrested in Port Orange, Florida and charged with felony aggravated stalking, false imprisonment, domestic assault and violating the conditions of his pre-trial release. He was then transferred to ICE custody on 15 January.
Owen was also awaiting trial on a different domestic battery charge from November 2019.
ICE said his next of kin had been notified of his death, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and the UK consulate. The agency said that members of its senior leadership would conduct a "comprehensive review" of the incident.
"ICE is firmly committed to the health and welfare of all those in its custody and is undertaking a comprehensive agency-wide review of this incident, as it does in all such cases," the agency said in a statement.
"Fatalities in ICE custody, statistically, are exceedingly rare and occur at a fraction of the national average for the US detained population," it added.
According to agency data, eight individuals died last year while in ICE custody. Owen's death was the third apparent detainee suicide since October - the beginning of the current fiscal year.
The agency has faced criticism and calls for investigations into conditions at its facilities. A report last July from the Homeland Security Office of Inspector General warned of "dangerous overcrowding" at the US-Mexico border, noting that some adults were held for up to a week in facilities that were standing room only.
President Donald Trump has made immigration a key part of his re-election bid, leading to a rise in ICE detentions. At the southern border, US border patrol apprehended more than 850,000 migrants in 2019 - the highest annual number in the last decade.
Last year, more than 50,000 individuals were detained. The average length of stay in ICE custody also rose from previous years, leading to serious overcrowding issues in ICE detention facilities.
LONDON—The U.K. government has given the green light for Huawei Technologies Co. to build part of its next-generation 5G cellular network, dismissing calls from the Trump administration to boycott the Chinese telecom-equipment vendor over security fears.
The government said Huawei would be given permission to build noncritical parts of the country’s 5G network. Britain’s National Security Council concluded that the security risks the Chinese company presented could be managed. Huawei officials have repeatedly denied claims that its equipment could be used by the Chinese state to spy on countries or incapacitate key infrastructure.
The decision is a major setback for American-led efforts to clamp down on the use of Huawei products, and could embolden other countries to follow the U.K.’s lead. Germany is expected to make a decision on whether to allow Huawei to build sections of its own 5G network later this year.
U.S. officials visited London recently to reiterate their fears that the use of Huawei would strengthen China’s attempt to gain a stranglehold on the global telecom-equipment market. In recent days, President Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have warned U.K. officials of what they describe as the dangers of allowing telecom companies to use Huawei equipment.
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A senior Trump administration official said the U.S. was disappointed by the U.K.’s decision and looked forward to working with Britain to find a way to exclude “untrusted vendor components” from 5G networks.
The U.K.’s decision doesn’t give Huawei a full pass: The country will ban the company’s equipment from centralized parts of the 5G infrastructure that route data across the network, as well as sensitive locations such as near military and nuclear installations. Huawei will only be allowed to provide more peripheral equipment—such as base stations and antennae that connect the core to consumers’ devices—that is viewed as less of a security risk. The decision also limits the market share of the Chinese company to no more than 35%.
“High risk vendors have never been—and never will be—in our most sensitive networks,” said Ciaran Martin, the chief executive of Britain’s National Cyber Security Center.
Huawei Vice President Victor Zhang said he was reassured by the British government’s decision. “This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future,” he said.
For Britain, the choice follows months of prevarication. As the country prepares to quit the European Union this week, the government is loath to antagonize either the U.S. or China, with which it wants to bolster trading relations. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to ensure that Britain has access to cutting-edge telecom equipment, seen as vital for powering everything from driverless cars to virtual-reality headsets. A key plank of the government’s vision after Brexit is to turn Britain into a high-tech research hub. That can’t be achieved without a quick 5G rollout.
Still, the choice risks angering U.S. officials, led by Mr. Trump, who have lobbied the U.K. not to use Huawei. Mr. Pompeo took to Twitter over the weekend to warn the British government over Huawei. Mr. Trump and Mr. Johnson discussed the issue last week by telephone.
“It’s critical that we have infrastructure that’s protected,” said Mr. Mnuchin in a speech in the U.K. over the weekend. “These national security issues go beyond the traditional aspects.”
U.S. officials have warned that backing Huawei could affect trade talks with the U.K., which are expected to get under way in earnest next month. They also warned that intelligence sharing with the U.K. may be restricted, a threat that British officials believe is overblown.
British security officials have long pointed to a practical problem with banning Huawei: The company is already embedded in British telecom infrastructure that will form the base of the 5G network. Ripping it out would cost billions of dollars and set back the rollout of the new network by years. A dearth of competitors to Huawei also means the country has few other options.
Huawei has emerged as the world’s biggest maker of telecom gear, including base stations, switches and routers. It competes chiefly with Sweden’s Ericsson AB and Finland’s Nokia Corp. and benefits from Chinese state subsidies.
It is currently the telecom-equipment market leader in the U.K., according to a government report published in 2019. The British government in 2018 estimated that Huawei’s market share for 4G networks in the U.K. was around 35%. That figure rises to 45% for ultrafast fiber networks. The U.K.’s largest telecom provider, BT Group PLC, is a longtime Huawei customer and has already started rolling out its 5G network using the company’s equipment.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Huawei’s Ren Zhengfei discusses how his company will navigate the trade war, concerns over whether its equipment could be used to spy for Beijing and his road trip across America. Photo: Anthony Kwan for The Wall Street Journal
Britain has already taken steps to mitigate the risk that Huawei presents. A research lab overseen by U.K. officials but funded by Huawei studies the equipment for security issues. In 2018 and 2019, it highlighted major quality and security issues with Huawei’s engineering. Last year, the oversight committee said it could offer only “limited assurance” that risks to U.K. national security from Huawei were sufficiently mitigated. A major problem was that the lab was vetting software that was different from that running in equipment across the country.
The debate over Huawei has sown division among senior British lawmakers over what the country’s strategic priorities should be. Australia, another British ally, has already banned Huawei. Some British lawmakers had argued the U.K. should follow suit, worried that sovereignty could be surrendered to China.
“Is the risk worth it?” said Tom Tugendhat, a lawmaker in Mr. Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party. “If even the communist party in Vietnam reject it…perhaps we should be aware of strangers and the gifts they bear.”
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The announcement follows months of public debate in the United Kingdom over how to respond to concerns raised by the US government about potential national security risks posed by Huawei components and the threat of Chinese cyber attacks.
UK mobile operators will be able to use Huawei equipment in their 5G networks but the company will be excluded from "security critical" core areas, according to a statement from the government.
The Trump administration had been pressing for a total ban on Huawei products, alleging that Beijing could use the equipment for snooping. It had warned that US-UK intelligence sharing could be put at risk.
Under Chinese law, Chinese companies can be ordered to act under the direction of Beijing.Huawei has consistently denied that it would help the Chinese government to spy.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under intense pressure, including from within his party, to agree to the US demands on Huawei. He discussed the issue with President Donald Trump in a phone call on Friday. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted Sunday that Britain faced a "momentous" decision on 5G.
Huawei already has a significant presence in UK wireless networks, and has been operating under supervision by government security agencies since 2003.
"We've always treated them as a 'high risk vendor' and have worked to limit their use in the UK and put extra mitigations around their equipment and services," Ian Levy, technical director of the National Cyber Security Centre, said in a blog post.
In a statement, the company said it was "reassured" that it would be able to continue working with its UK customers on 5G,albeit in a restricted role.
"We agree a diverse vendor market and fair competition are essential for network reliability and innovation, as well as ensuring consumers have access to the best possible technology," said Victor Zhang, a vice president at Huawei.
The issue demonstrates how a conflict between the United States and China over the future of technology is forcing other countries to take sides, especially when it comes to advancements that could affect national security.
5G allows greater and faster data processing, and is seen as an integral component of new interconnected technologies such as automated vehicles and smart appliances. Johnson's government has pledged to bring 5G to the entire country by 2025.
Huawei, which is a leader in 5G technology and also one of the world's biggest sellers of smartphones, has seen its business targeted in a concerted campaign by the United States.But its products are often described as superior and cheaper than those sold by European rivals Nokia(NOK) and Ericsson(ERIC). Some experts say that Huawei owes part of its success to favorable loans from the Chinese state, an assertion the company disputes.
The UK government said "high risk vendors" like Huawei will be excluded from all safety critical infrastructure, security critical "core" functions of the network and sensitive locations such as military sites and nuclear power stations.
The company will also be limited to supplying 35% of network equipment and base stations, or carrying 35% of network traffic.
"The government is certain that these measures, taken together, will allow us to mitigate the potential risk posed by the supply chain and to combat the range of threats, whether cyber criminals, or state sponsored attacks," the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said in a statement.
Trump administration 'disappointed'
Britain, which will leave the European Union on Friday, faced a tough choice on whether to use the company's products. In recent years, it has courted investment from China, but it has a very close relationship with the United States and is banking on a new trade deal with Washington after Brexit. Allowing Huawei into its 5G networks could make such an agreement harder to get.
The Trump administration said Tuesday it was "disappointed" with the decision.
A senior administration official told CNN Business the United States will continue to press "all countries" to avoid using Huawei wireless gear.
"There is no safe option for untrusted vendors to control any part of a 5G network," the official said. "We look forward to working with the UK on a way forward that results in the exclusion of untrusted vendor components from 5G networks."
Three members of the US Senate, which plays a role in approving trade deals, made the stakes clear in a letter to Johnson on Monday.
Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton and John Cornyn told Johnson that while they did not want to "threaten" a free trade deal or to review how the countries share intelligence, the facts on Huawei "are clear."
"We hope that your government will make the right decision and reject Huawei's inclusion in its 5G infrastructure," the Republican senators wrote.
— Brian Fung in Washington contributed to this article.
UK mobile operators will be able to use Huawei equipment in their 5G networks but the company will be excluded from "security critical" core areas, according to a statement from the government.
The announcement follows months of public debate in the United Kingdom over how to respond to concerns raised by the US government about potential national security risks posed by Huawei components.
The Trump administration had been asking for a total ban on Huawei products, alleging that Beijing could use the equipment for snooping. Huawei has consistently denied that it would help the Chinese government to spy. The administration had warned that US-UK intelligence sharing could be put at risk.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under intense pressure, including from within his party, to agree to US demands on Huawei. He discussed the issue with President Donald Trump in a phone call on Friday. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted Sunday that Britain faced a "momentous" decision on 5G.
Huawei said in a statement that it was "reassured" that it would be able to continue working with its UK customers on 5G,albeit in a restricted role.
"We agree a diverse vendor market and fair competition are essential for network reliability and innovation, as well as ensuring consumers have access to the best possible technology," said Victor Zhang, a vice president at Huawei.
The issue demonstrates how a conflict between the United States and China over the future of technology is forcing other countries to take sides, especially when it comes to advancements that could affect national security.
5G allows greater and faster data processing, and is seen as an integral component of new interconnected technologies such as automated vehicles and smart appliances. Johnson's government has pledged to bring 5G to the entire country by 2025.
Huawei, which is a leader in 5G technology and also one of the world's biggest sellers of smartphones, has seen its business targeted in a concerted campaign by the United States.But its products are often described as superior and cheaper than those sold by European rivals Nokia(NOK) and Ericsson(ERIC). Some experts say that Huawei owes part of its success to favorable loans from the Chinese state, an assertion the company disputes.
Britain, which will leave the European Union on Friday, faced a tough choice on whether to use the company's products. The United Kingdom has in recent years courted investment from China, but it has a very close relationship with the United States and is banking on a new trade deal with Washington after Brexit. Allowing Huawei into its 5G networks could make such an agreement harder to get.
Three members of the US Senate, which plays a role in approving trade deals, made the stakes clear in a letter to Johnson on Monday.
Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton and John Cornyn told Johnson that while they did not want to "threaten" a free trade deal or to review how the countries share intelligence, the facts on Huawei "are clear."
"We hope that your government will make the right decision and reject Huawei's inclusion in its 5G infrastructure," the Republican senators wrote.
A Huawei logo is pictured at their store at Vina del Mar, Chile July 18, 2019.
Rodrigo Garrido | Reuters
Britain will allow Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to play a limited role in its next generation 5G mobile networks.
The U.K. government said that Huawei will be restricted from being involved in "sensitive functions" in a network of features labeled as "core."
There is also a limit in place on how much equipment networks can buy from one "high risk vendor" for a particular part of the infrastructure known as the Radio Access Network (RAN.) This is essentially the part of the network that hooks up your devices with the actual 5G signal. That cap is set at 35%.
"The cap at 35% ensures the U.K. will not become nationally dependent on a high risk vendor while retaining competition in the market and allowing operators to continue to use two Radio Access Network (RAN) vendors," the U.K.'s National Cyber Security Centre said in its review of the country's telecommunications supply chain on Tuesday.
The move could strain relations between the U.K. and U.S. following a campaign by Washington to have the the Chinese firm blocked from as many markets as possible, including Britain. The U.S. claims Huawei poses a national security risk because its equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage. Politicians have also raised concerns about Huawei's links to the Chinese Communist Party. Huawei has repeatedly denied these claims and any link to China's government.
Huawei will likely view the decision as a win given it has already been blocked in other key markets including Australia and Japan.
"Huawei is reassured by the U.K. government's confirmation that we can continue working with our customers to keep the 5G roll-out on track. This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future. It gives the U.K. access to world-leading technology and ensures a competitive market," Victor Zhang, vice president at Huawei, said in a statement.
In the lead up to the decision, U.S. politicians pressured the U.K. to outright ban Huawei. Over the weekend, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Britain had a "momentous decision ahead on 5G" replying to British Conservative lawmaker Tom Tugendhat, who said: "The truth is that only nations able to protect their data will be sovereign."
And there is also a risk that the intelligence sharing relationship between the U.S. and China is under threat. Earlier this month, a U.S. lawmaker has introduced a bill that would stop the United States from sharing intelligence with countries that use Huawei equipment for their 5G networks. That bill is not yet law.
5G technology is more than just faster download speeds on mobile devices. It promises to be able to underpin other new technologies like driverless cars for example. That's why it's viewed as so crucial — because it could be the backbone for critical infrastructure in the future.
Some lawmakers in the Conservative government's own party sent warnings to U.K. Prime Minster Boris Johnson.
"The danger is that you allow China leverage into your system, into your critical national infrastructure if you allow Huawei in," Conservative lawmaker Bob Seely, told BBC Radio 4's "Today" show on Tuesday.
This is a breaking news story, please check back later for more.
As the clock strikes 23:00 GMT on Friday, 31 January, the 73 MEPs who represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the European Parliament will bid farewell to their roles.
For some of them, there is only delight and relief as the UK approaches Brexit. For others, there have been tears and goodbye hugs.
"How I am feeling is how somebody feels when you have a redundancy and a bereavement at the same time," says Green MEP Molly Scott Cato, who has represented south-west England since 2014.
It's been a tearful goodbye and a "grim, grim week", she says, during a break from packing up her Strasbourg office.
But, in contrast, Brexit could not have come soon enough for Jake Pugh.
"We are delighted," says the Brexit Party MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber. "We were hired to be fired."
He is one of 29 Brexit Party MEPs who were elected in last May's European elections - a vote many considered as confirmation of the UK's desire to leave the EU.
The poll had also brought hope, however, for pro-EU Liberal Democrat MEPs who also enjoyed a successful campaign, winning 16 seats. They entered the parliament wearing yellow "stop Brexit" t-shirts.
Nine months on there remains a clear divide over Brexit among the MEPs, but the politicians appear united about a feeling of pride at what they have achieved.
"There has been so much warmth and comradeship," says Labour's Seb Dance of his final week in Strasbourg. "Most people are pretty sad about the whole thing."
The Labour MEP for London had previously campaigned for another vote on the UK's membership of the EU.
'Truly grateful'
Speaking to the BBC as he dashes between trains in Paris, he says he is proud of the things that "never got the headlines" during his six years in the role.
Ms Scott Cato says she is proud of her work on the issue of sustainable finance and new EU restrictions on the use of antibiotics in farms.
The European Parliament is a "real parliament", she says, expressing her frustration with the UK's first-past-the-post system - which means that parties like hers struggle to get people elected in Westminster.
"We don't get the parliamentary representation we should have."
Green Party colleague Magid Magid says there is a sense of sadness, but he feels "truly grateful and humble for this amazing opportunity".
Mr Pugh says he "fully recognises there are MEPs with different political outlooks who are sad to be leaving" but, he says, the EU "has some real issues".
"However cynical I was about the EU before I got here, it is way worse than I thought," he says.
The Eurozone is a "disaster", he says, and MEPs in Brussels and Strasbourg "are very remote from their electorate".
Brexit is "really good news for the younger generation", he says, adding that he has pursued Brexit for them, so young people can enjoy the same freedom he had growing up.
It's clear that view is shared among his colleagues, a number of whom shared their delight on Twitter at leaving the parliament building in Strasbourg for the final time.
Belinda de Lucy says leaving no more taxpayers' money will be wasted "on this ridiculous vanity project", while Ben Habib says he will not give the parliament "a second thought" after leaving.
'Amazing journey'
"I'm actually just relieved that a democratic mandate's been realised," Brexit Party MEP Claire Fox says.
"I won't miss being in this institution... but of course I have been privileged and enjoyed being here for this historic moment."
And John Longworth, the former Brexit Party MEP turned Conservative, says that his time in the European Parliament has "reinforced" his view that the "whole set-up is bizarre, bureaucratic and wasteful".
They say that they are proud at having achieved what they set out to do - Brexit.
But even arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage - who has been an MEP for south-east England since 1999 - called his time in European Parliament "an amazing journey".
He told his LBC radio show he will miss the "drama" and being "shouted at by (European Parliament Brexit co-ordinator) Guy Verhofstadt" and "mocked by hundreds many times over".
From Friday, the UK MEPs will no longer have to regularly do the four and a half hour journey from London to Strasbourg, via Paris, or the two-hour trip to Brussels.
But many of the pro-EU MEPs are hoping that they can keep the close ties formed with the bloc.
"We have built up relationships with colleagues, lots of them were in tears - not just Brits," Labour's Richard Corbett says.
It has been a sad and emotional time, he adds. But this is also tinged with "a lot of anger and frustration".
Wednesday will be the final time that the UK's MEPs sit in Brussels - when the Parliament is expected to rubber-stamp Boris Johnson's withdrawal deal taking the UK out of the EU.
As a party is held in London's Parliament Square to celebrate Brexit on Friday, a vigil is expected to be held in Brussels.
Some MEPs will then move on to other jobs - the Brexit Party's Jake Pugh says he will return to his business. Others are not sure yet what they will do, but are keen to maintain European relationships.
Labour's Seb Dance says he has a "few ideas" but "nothing 100%", adding "I'm just really proud to have been an MEP".
