The Huawei incident points to a deeper lesson for Great Britain | Larry Elliott

Beyond the leaks and even the data security lies a message about our attitude toward manufacturing

The debate over whether the Chinese telecoms company Huawei should be involved in building Britain's 5G network has centred on two questions: was the former defence secretary Gavin Williamson the source of the leak from the National Security Council, and would Huawei represent a security threat?

These are certainly important questions, but there is a third issue that deserves an airing - namely, why a country that emerged from the second world war with a technological edge in computers and electronics should require the assistance of what is still classified as an emerging economy to construct a crucial piece of national infrastructure.