A senior official of Vodafone has warned that UK's hopes of leading the world in 5G technology would be dealt a terminal blow if the government removes Huawei from the country's telecoms infrastructure, the Financial Times (FT) newspaper reported Wednesday.

"The UK's leadership in 5G will be lost if mobile operators are forced to spend time and money replacing existing equipment," Scott Petty, chief technology officer at Vodafone UK, told FT.

The UK announced in January its new plans to safeguard the country's telecoms network, which is widely seen as approving a restricted role for Huawei in helping build the country's 5G network.

"For nearly 20 years, we've supplied the UK's mobile and broadband companies with 3G and 4G. But some now question our role in helping Britain lead the way in 5G," Huawei said in an open letter recently.

UK telecoms operators such as EE and Vodafone have launched 5G and Huawei's equipment is used in their networks.

Petty said that, rather than stripping out Huawei equipment, "efforts should instead be focused on expanding 5G coverage, developing 5G capabilities for UK industry, and investing in the next stage of this important technology," according to FT.

"As a private company, 100 percent owned by employees, our priority has been to help mobile and broadband companies build a better connected UK," Huawei Vice President Victor Zhang has said.