If Britain allows Huawei to build Britain’s 5G network, the intelligence sharing relationship with the US will be harmed, the former US Secretary of Homeland Security has warned.

Governor Tom Ridge, who set up the US security department in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, said the western world is in a “digital war” with Beijing.

He called on the incoming UK administration to review as a priority the decision to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei access to Britain's critical national infrastructure.

Speaking in London of the risks to the close intelligence relationship between the UK and the US, he said: “It’s a complication. Much of the intelligence sharing is electronic and if you are relying on secure telecoms and they’ve got a front door, well I don’t know how many pigeons can fly across the Atlantic.

“It will affect intelligence sharing.”