Europe

UK Prime Minister Fires Defense Secretary Over Leaks

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the House of Commons for her weekly Prime Minister's questions in London, May 1, 2019.

LONDON — 

British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson has been fired after an investigation into leaks from a secret government meeting about Chinese telecoms firm Huawei.

Prime Minister Theresa May's office says May has "lost confidence" in Williamson.

SEE ALSO: Britain's Theresa May Under Pressure to Reverse Huawei Decision

Downing St. says "the prime minister's decision has been informed by his conduct surrounding an investigation into the circumstances of the unauthorized disclosure of information from a meeting of the National Security Council."

An investigation was launched last week after newspapers reported that the security council, which meets in private, had agreed to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britain's new 5G wireless communications network.

The government insists no decision has been made about that.