The government has insisted no decision has been made on a Chinese mega-embassy in London, after MPs on all sides warned of a potential threat to national security.
The Conservatives claimed the controversial scheme would give China a “launch-pad for economic warfare”.
Labour, Tory, Liberal Democrat, DUP and SNP MPs all urged the government to reject the embassy plans to prevent espionage and guard against the “transnational repression” of Hong Kongers in the UK, in an urgent Commons debate.
Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook said the government took these issues seriously and “all material considerations will be taken into consideration” when the decision is made “on or before 20 January”.
Conservative shadow Home Office minister Alicia Kearns highlighted a report in the Telegraph, which said the plans include secret rooms and a “concealed chamber” that sat alongside cables carrying data to the City of London.
The drawings seen by the newspaper suggest China intends to demolish and rebuild the outer basement wall of the chamber, directly beside the fibre-optic cables.
Kearns said that could offer access to cables “carrying millions of British people’s emails and financial data, and access that would give the Chinese Communist Party a launch pad for economic warfare against our nation”.
She added that approving the embassy plans would also “reward” China for holding British national Jimmy Lai in prison.
The Tory MP raised a point of order to complain that a planning minister had been sent to the Commons to answer her urgent question, rather than a Foreign Office minister.
Labour MP Sarah Champion, who chairs the Commons International Development Select Committee, said: “Multiple government agencies and government departments have raised concerns about this mega-embassy.
“Our international partners have raised concerns about it.
“Every security briefing I’ve had identifies China as a hostile state to the UK.
“I am in no doubt this mega-embassy should not be allowed to go ahead.”
Pennycook repeatedly told MPs it would be “inappropriate” for him to comment on a live case, insisting that the final decision would be made by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
He added: “We recognise that China poses a series of threats to UK national security and we challenge these robustly.
“China also presents opportunities to the UK as the world’s second-largest economy and the UK’s third-largest trading partner.”
Lib Dem MP Bobby Dean said he was “exasperated” by Pennycook’s responses, which he said had failed to recognise the “huge diplomatic consequences” of the decision.
He said the minister was “treating this development as a mere wrinkle in a bureaucratic planning matter and that is simply not the case”.
Sir Keir Starmer has been planning a trip to China for early this year, which would be the first by a British Prime Minister since 2018.
Approval for the London embassy has long been a priority for China’s government, which bought the site for £255m in 2018.
On Monday, nine Labour MPs wrote to the housing secretary urging him to reject the mega-embassy plans.
The site, opposite the Tower of London and once home to the Royal Mint, would be the biggest embassy any country has in Europe.