Controversial plans for a Chinese super-embassy just a stone’s throw from the Tower of London have been recommended for approval by the Planning Inspectorate — despite concerns raised by British intelligence.
President Xi Jinping is understood to have personally lobbied Keir Starmer in a phone call over the development, with a final decision expected from housing secretary Angela Rayner before September.
The former Conservative government blocked the scheme amid security warnings about its potential for espionage, with critics alleging it could house “spy dungeons”.
Planning documents for the proposed embassy site, located at the historic Royal Mint buildings near the Tower of London, reveal “two suites of anonymous unlabelled basement rooms and a tunnel” — with their intended purpose redacted “for security reasons”.
A 12-day public inquiry into the application was held in February, and a report from the Planning Inspectorate — an executive agency of the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government — is now believed to recommend approval.
Tower Hamlets council originally refused the proposal in 2022, but the application was later called in by Angela Rayner, who used her powers to take the final decision out of the local authority’s hands. Even if approved, the scheme could still face a Judicial Review amid fierce opposition.
Security concerns revolve around the site's sensitive location between the financial districts of the City and Canary Wharf as well as three important data centres nearby - with critical communication cables susceptible to attack, The Sunday Times reports.
The Royal Mint Court Residents Association, which advocates for residents and workers near the proposed embassy site, said: "This has been a David versus Goliath battle since the beginning, and we are not giving up now. Most of us fully expected this outcome, and we are now crowdfunding a legal challenge."
But opposition has come from even further afield, with both the White House and Dutch government warning against allowing a Chinese embassy to be built so close to financial centres.
Last month, a senior US official said: “The United States is deeply concerned about providing China with potential access to the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.”
President Trump is believed to have personally urged Keir Starmer to block the super-embassy plans, raising the issue during trade negotiations. Insiders say the US would be wary of sharing intelligence with Britain if the embassy were to open.
The United States’ National Security Council issued a memo to members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) about "dark cabling" under the embassy site that "feeds the City of London".
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said: “The government should block this request from China, a state the prime minister himself describes as an ‘adversary’ and which the head of MI5 has said is conducting espionage on an ‘epic scale’ against the UK. The vast embassy site is several times bigger than the Royal Albert Hall.”
The Bank of England's threat team has also reportedly warned about security risks from the applications, but all objections have so far been dismissed by Beijing as "anti-China elements" who are "keen on slandering and attacking China".
The former Royal Mint buildings were purchased by China in 2018 which has eagerly sought to develop them. Former Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi is believed to have discussed the issue with foreign secretary David Lammy during his visit to London in January.
Scotland Yard and Tower Hamlets council dropped their objections to the project within a fortnight of Chanellor Rachel Reeves returning from an official visit to China earlier this year.
A group of MPs currently sanctioned by China wrote to Lammy last week and insisted their restrictions should not be used as a bartering tool as part of any deal for the super-embassy.
Signatories included former Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat, former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, and Labour peer Baroness Helena Kennedy, director of law reform think tank Justice.
They wrote : “We hope you will take this opportunity to assure us that our sanctions will not be on the table when such matters are under consideration. We would all rather remain sanctioned than trade away our national security.
“China’s effort to silence us has not succeeded, but their sanctions have had an impact. We would expect that no decisions will be taken on this matter [lifting the sanctions] without first informing those of us directly affected.”
Concerns over Chinese influence in the UK have been growing. Unofficial Chinese "police service stations" have reportedly operated in Croydon, Hendon, Glasgow and Belfast, allegedly used to monitor and intimidate dissidents.
