China has been given permission to build a vast new embassy in the heart of London despite criticism from MPs and campaigners that it will be used as a base for spying and security crackdowns
China has been given permission to build a vast new embassy in the heart of London despite criticism from MPs and campaigners that it will be used as a base for spying and security crackdowns.
Local Government Secretary Steve Reed approved the plans for the building at Royal Mint Court, a site near the Tower of London. The decision removes a diplomatic hurdle in the relationship with Xi Jinping’s government, clearing the way for Keir Starmer to make a widely-expected visit to China – possibly within weeks.
Plans leaked earlier this week show there would be 208 rooms underneath the building, sparking fears of espionage amid heightened tensions. The decision comes despite a call from MPs and peers on the Labour-led Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy to reject the plans, warning the embassy – the biggest in Europe – would “create a hub for expanded intelligence-gathering and intimidation operations”.
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The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which has been involved in a campaign to halt the new Chinese embassy, said the planning approval was the “wrong decision for the UK”.
Luke de Pulford, a co-founder of the group, said: “This is the wrong decision for the UK, sending all the wrong signals. Wrong for dissidents, wrong for UK national security. Our three Cs China policy is less compete, challenge and cooperate, more cover-up, cave in, and cash out.”
Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesman Calum Miller said: “Building on a bad week for our national security, Starmer has made his biggest mistake yet… This Government should be ashamed of its decision to allow the super spy embassy to go ahead today.”
Labour’s Sarah Champion, who chairs the International Development Agency, earlier this week told ministers: “Every security briefing I have identifies China as a hostile state to the UK. I am in no doubt that this mega embassy should not be allowed to go ahead.”
She said that China is “terrorising” people – including MPs – overseas and in the UK, adding: “I want my government to stand up to bullies, not reward them. We need to be seeing rules, limits put in place around China to stop this behaviour, not rewarding them with the embassy that they so dearly want.”
A letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published on Tuesday morning said the Communities Secretary had granted both planning permission and listed building consent for the site at Royal Mint Court, near the Tower of London.
It read: “The Inspector recommended that the applications be approved and planning permission and listed building consent be granted, subject to conditions. For the reasons given below, the Secretary of State agrees with the Inspector’s conclusions, except where stated, and agrees with her recommendations. He has decided to grant planning permission and listed building consent, subject to conditions.”