Theresa May has given the green light to a Chinese telecoms giant to help build Britain's new 5G network despite warnings from the US and some of her most senior ministers that it poses a risk to national security.

The National Security Council, which is chaired by the Prime Minister, agreed on Tuesday to allow Huawei limited access to help build parts of the network such as antennas and other “noncore” infrastructure.

Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, Foreign Secretary, Gavin Williamson, Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, International Trade Secretary, and Penny Mordaunt, International Development Secretary, were said to have raised concerns about the approach.

The decision is likely to anger the US, which has banned Huawei from its government networks and put pressure on other partners in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance – the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada – to do the same.

Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, warned it would cause the UK's allies to "doubt our ability to keep data secure and erode the trust essential to FiveEyes cooperation".

"There's a reason others have said no," he said. "It is unwise to co-operate in an area of critical national infrastructure with a state that can at best be described as not always friendly."