New Chinese ‘super embassy’ in London to get green light: Report

London, Jun 22 (PTI) A new Chinese so-called “super embassy” planned in central London is expected to get the UK government’s stamp of approval after the country’s Planning Inspectorate has reportedly given its nod.

According to ‘The Sunday Times’, UK Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner is expected to clear the path for China's plans for a mega embassy at the site of the historic Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London.

The plans, initially blocked amid espionage risk, were revived following lobbying by China, and a 12-day public inquiry took place in February. Following this, the Planning Inspectorate, an executive agency of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is understood to have given the scheme the “green light”.  The decision, which is expected to be formally signed off by Rayner before September, is likely to trigger a judicial review process, the newspaper report 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,” said a spokesperson for Royal Mint Court Residents Association, which represents the people who live or work in properties next to the proposed embassy.

‘The Sunday Times’ reports that US President Donald Trump has previously called on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to deny permission for the “super-embassy”, with the issue said to have been raised in the trade negotiations between the two countries.

Diplomats say the Trump administration would have “reservations about sharing intelligence” with the UK if a mega embassy opened at the proposed site.

China has dismissed all espionage claims and an embassy spokesperson said that “anti-China elements are always keen on slandering and attacking” the country.

Meanwhile, the Opposition Conservatives have been vocal in their attacks over a mega embassy.

“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,” said Opposition Leader Kemi Badenoch.

“The vast embassy site is several times bigger than the Royal Albert Hall," she said.

Earlier this year, shadow ministers had joined hundreds of protesters who descended upon the proposed site of China’s so-called mega embassy in east London.

China bought the 20,000 square metres of land at Royal Mint Court in 2018 for GBP 225 million and submitted plans to the local Tower Hamlets Council to turn the site into a much larger London embassy than its current location at Portland Place, near Baker Street.

The council had first rejected a planning application to develop the site in 2022 before it was resubmitted last year, which it had again refused at an extraordinary meeting of the Strategic Development Committee in December last year.

Its rejection is due to concerns over the impact on resident and tourist safety, heritage, police resources and highway safety given the "congested nature of the area".

However, the final decision now rests with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner after a ”call-in” by her ministry as the ultimate decision maker.

The MHCLG Secretary of State can "call in" planning applications where they consider there may be issues of national significance, having regard to published government policy. PTI AK GRS GRS