Watch the moment a Labour minister ended up scrambling to defend plans to build a Chinese “super-embassy” in the heart of London which is reported to house a “secret chamber” in the basement.
Home Office Minister Alex Norris appeared on GB News, where he was subjected to a grilling from host Ellie Costello on the eerie discovery.
Ellie questioned him on the development, exposed by The Telegraph, where unredacted plans show just how close the underground room will be to sensitive fibre optic cables.
The sheer proximity to these wires has sparked concern, given they carry financial information and data to and from the City of London.
“How could the Government possibly approve of this?” the GB News star fumed.
But Mr Norris shied away from responding to the revelation directly, merely citing his ministerial colleague Steve Reed as the individual responsible for the final decision on whether the embassy will be given the green light.
He told Ellie: “This is a quasi-judicial process. The process is not finished yet.
“It ends with the Secretary of State for Housing and Planning, Steve Reed, will make a final determination based on all the information.
Mr Norris shied away from answering the question directly
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GB NEWS
“Based on the plans, based on information submitted by many parties, including ourselves in the Home Office, based on local representations, based on the facts.
“And we need to let them have the space to make that judgment.”
The city cables are among some of Britain’s most sensitive and could soon neighbour a network of 208 secret rooms beneath the Chinese complex, The Telegraph revealed.
But Sir Keir Starmer is believed to be on track to give the controversial embassy the thumbs-up, just mere weeks before he is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Mr Tugendhat has been a long-standing critic of the plans, being a staunch opponent of China
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GB NEWSThe plans are said to be obscured from publicly accessible versions of the potential future embassy. The drawings include a room sitting right next to the fibre-optic cables, decked out with hot-air extraction systems.
They also expose that China is looking to tear down and rebuild the outer wall of the secret chamber, right next to the crucially sensitive cables.
Such technology indicates the installation of heat-generating equipment, including highly advanced espionage equipment.
Equally, the decision to include cooling equipment could simply be benign, such as a canteen or a gym for employees.
Still, the revelation that plans have been hidden has disturbed the public, with many critics slamming Labour for continuing to flirt with the concept of the “super-embassy” in Tower Hamlets.
Former Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said: “The point of the rules is to protect Britain. If the laws don’t allow that – change the laws. That is the only purpose of Parliament and Government.”
A Government spokesman said: “National security is our first duty and Government security experts have been involved throughout the process so far.
“As the Home Office and Foreign Office have previously set out, all the security implications of the planning application have been identified and addressed.
“An independent planning decision will be made by the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government in due course.”