China threatened Britain with “consequences” if the Government does not give approval for a new mega-embassy in London.
Beijing hit out after Communities Secretary Steve Reed delayed a decision on the controversial development at the Royal Mint Court site in Tower Hamlets from October 21 to December 10.
The ruling by the Government over the embassy row was put back in the midst of the huge China spy storm centred on Parliament.
In Beijing, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told of “grave concern and strong dissatisfaction” at the delay.
He stressed that Britain must “immediately fulfill its obligations and honour its commitments, otherwise the British side shall bear all consequences”.
He accused the UK of showing “disregard for contractual spirit, acting in bad faith and without integrity” over the stand-off on the vast new embassy which could cost £750 million.
Concerns have been raised that the sprawling diplomatic development would allow the Chinese to monitor underground cables serving the City of London to gain huge amounts of valuable and confidential data.
Downing Street said it did not "recognise" Chinese claims of "assurances" or "commitments" over Beijing's application to build the new embassy in London.
Asked about the statements by China's Foreign Ministry, a Downing Street spokesman said: "We do not recognise any claims of assurances, and I can't explain the statement they've set out, I wouldn't be able to speak on behalf of the Chinese embassy.
"Protecting the UK's national security is our first duty.
"In terms of the planning process, as set out yesterday, this is a decision that is independent of the rest of Government.
"It would therefore not be appropriate for me to comment further on cases before MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) ministers. "
Mr Reed said he expected to see the full, unredacted plans for the proposed Chinese embassy before making a decision on whether to approve it.
Asked if the security risk posed by China would be a factor in the decision, he told Times Radio: “Speaking in general terms, because I can’t comment on that particular application, then, yes, this Government recognises that China poses a threat to national security and we see that from various cyber attacks and cyber incidents that have happened.”
Pressed on whether the Government was prepared to put the economic benefits of a relationship with China ahead of security concerns, he said: “National security is paramount...we would never compromise national security.”
Drawings of the site originally submitted as part of the planning process contained blacked-out areas, fuelling suspicions from China hawks that Beijing intends to use the site as a base for large-scale espionage activities.
Plans for the embassy were previously rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022, with the Chinese opting not to appeal.
However, Beijing resubmitted the application a fortnight after Sir Keir Starmer’s election victory last year, seemingly believing Labour may be more receptive to the application, and the plans were called in so ministers would make the final decision.
The looming decision on the embassy comes as the Crown Prosecution Service and the Government faced continued pressure over their handling of the collapsed Chinese spying case.
Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson is facing growing questions from MPs over why the CPS dropped the case against parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash and academic Christopher Berry last month after failing to get stronger language from the Government over the threat posed by China.
Both men, who deny wrongdoing, had been accused of passing secrets to China.
The Government has faced accusations from the Tories that it scuppered the case so as not to harm economic and diplomatic relations with Beijing.
Sir Keir has strongly rejected the claim and took the highly unusual step of publishing three witness statements for the case from the Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Collins, with the first giving startling details of the accusations against Mr Berry and Mr Cash.
