TORFAEN MP Nick Thomas-Symonds has called on the government to support investment into the UK’s tech sector.

In parliament, Dominic Raab MP spoke for the government and outlined the steps it was taking to enable 5G.

Mr Thomas-Symonds, shadow minister for security, said: “After a decade of successive Conservative governments, we do not have our own capacity to secure our critical national infrastructure and security, rather than relying on other countries.

“Indeed, as I think the Foreign Secretary conceded, the UK has been left to choose between just three 5G vendors.”

5G is the next generation of wireless technology, and will bring faster data spends, meaning quicker upload and download speeds. It will allow for more smart devices to be connected to the network and finally faster response times.

Speaking after the debate, Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “The future of our telecommunications network is vital for our local economy in Torfaen. I welcome the need for a new 5G network that will enable faster data speeds, higher capacity and faster response times.

“The Government needs to make sure that the network will be built to be robust against any cyber attacks across the world and robust enough to with stand attacks from those that build our network.

“That the Government was left with such a limited choice of 5G providers is due to a failure of industrial policy over the past ten years.

“The Government must urgently support research and development in our tech sector so that this does not happen again.”