Plans for a new Chinese embassy in central London, located at Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London, have come under scrutiny due to reports of an underground complex featuring 208 secret rooms. Housing and Communities Secretary Steve Reed is expected to make a decision on whether to approve these controversial designs by January 20, 2024. Despite growing concerns about security implications, the Government is likely to endorse the project ahead of an upcoming visit by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to China.
The proposed plans have been heavily redacted, but details revealed by The Telegraph indicate the existence of a hidden chamber situated close to critical fibre-optic cables that transmit financial data to the City of London as well as personal data from millions of internet users. This has raised alarms among security experts, who question the potential for espionage activities.
Security analyst Professor Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey commented on the situation, stating that while the basement could serve legitimate purposes, it is also capable of concealing significant threats. He referred to the planned demolition of a basement wall adjacent to these fibre-optic cables as a “red flag” and identified the cables as “an enormous temptation” for foreign intelligence agencies.
The Labour Government has maintained that the decision regarding the embassy’s location falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. In a parliamentary discussion in December, former security minister Tom Tugendhat criticized the Government for its lack of direction on this issue, asserting that the placement of an embassy should not be treated as a mere bureaucratic decision.
A coalition of nine Labour MPs has voiced their opposition through a letter to the Government, urging the rejection of the embassy plans. They argue that the scale and strategic location of the embassy could facilitate increased intimidation against Chinese dissidents and the diaspora in the UK. The MPs expressed concern, stating, “Should this application be approved, we would feel unable to reassure our constituents that we are doing everything possible to protect them on British soil,” as reported by the BBC.
In response to the controversy, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government emphasized that the extensive redactions in the planning documents are standard practice in such appeals. As the deadline for the decision approaches, the potential implications of the embassy’s construction remain a topic of significant public debate.
