Ministers are set to rule on whether to approve the new Chinese “super-embassy” on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is widely expected to give Beijing’s plans for the Royal Mint Court site the green light, despite warnings that it will be used to “aggressively” spy on Britain.
Ministers have declined to comment ahead of the formal decision being made – but campaigners have vowed to fight on if it goes ahead.
Luke de Pulford, the head of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, warned that Labour could face an “embarrassing and potentially catastrophic” legal challenge if it approves the CCP-backed proposal.
“Years of campaigning about the obvious and manifold risks posed by this embassy development have not been enough to outweigh the UK Government’s desire for Beijing’s money,” Mr de Pulford said.
“The fight isn’t over. The campaign now heads to the courts where the Government is about to become embroiled in an embarrassing and potentially catastrophic judicial review.”
And locals in Tower Hamlets, home to the embassy site, are raising funds to challenge the Government if the project is allowed to go ahead.
The Telegraph revealed that the plans, which would see China’s largest European embassy set down in London, contained 208 secret rooms and a concerning hidden chamber.
If approved, the facility would become the largest Chinese embassy anywhere in Europe | CBRE
The Royal Mint Court site sits just a stone’s throw away from critical data cables, crucial for financial sector communications between the City of London and Canary Wharf.
However, GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre former chief executive Ciaran Martin waved away concerns about the location of the proposed embassy.
Writing in The Times, he assured that Beijing’s plans would have scrutinised by Britain’s security services with a fine-tooth comb and “no Government would override their advice were they to say the risks were too great”.
Local Government Security Steve Reed has been urged to block the plans by Labour backbenchers, who warned the site could be exploited by Beijing to “step up intimidation” against dissidents.
CHINA’S ‘SUPER-EMBASSY’ – READ THE LATEST:
The site sits just a stone’s throw away from critical data cables for communications between the City of London and Canary Wharf
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Foreign Office minister Seema Malhotra told the House of Commons on Monday: “We’ve been consistently clear that national security is the first duty of Government, and it has been our core priority throughout the embassy process, with the close involvement of the security and intelligence agencies.”
She added that a “range of measures” to protect national security had been put in place and she has “full confidence” in the security services to mitigate risks from CCP spies.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel accused ministers of compromising Britain’s national security over the plans to approve the building.
Speaking to GB News last week, Dame Priti branded Sir Keir Starmer “Beijing’s useful idiot in Britain” and claimed his administration “cannot be trusted with our national security”.
Seema Malhotra assured MPs that a ‘range of measures’ to protect national security had been put in place
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She told the People’s Channel: “First of all, they cannot be trusted with our national security. They are too busy kowtowing to China. Apparently, he is going to get on a plane to Beijing in the next few weeks.
“At the same time, we have people of Hong Kong origin in our country who are being subjected to repression, bounties on their heads, and intimidation by the Chinese authorities and Keir Starmer’s Government seems to think this is all okay. It simply is not.”
The Prime Minister has defended his approach, insisting that maintaining diplomatic engagement with the Asian superpower does not mean trading off security for economic access.
“This is not a question of balancing economic and security considerations. We don’t trade off security in one area, for a bit more economic access somewhere else,” Sir Keir has said.