Conservative leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch has criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the expected approval of a vast new Chinese embassy complex in east London, just weeks before Starmer’s planned visit to Beijing. The super-embassy at Royal Mint Court near Tower Bridge is almost certain to be formally given the go-ahead next week, despite renewed concerns among Labour MPs about security risks and the potential impact on Hong Kong and Uyghur exiles.
The development, spanning 20,000 square metres, would include a network of more than 200 subterranean rooms, one of which is adjacent to communication cables carrying data to the City of London. Shadow Home Office minister Alicia Kearns, who secured an urgent question in the Commons, warned that access to the cables “would give the Chinese Communist party a launch pad for economic warfare against our nation”.
Planning minister Matthew Pennycook insisted the process was “quasi-judicial” and free from political interference, adding that MI5 had not raised security concerns. However, several Labour MPs, including Sarah Champion and Alex Sobel, voiced alarm, with Champion stating that “every security briefing I’ve had identifies China as a hostile state”. The embassy’s location in Bethnal Green and Stepney, home to a large Muslim population, has drawn particular attention to the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Government officials acknowledge the timing could be useful for Starmer’s late January trip to China, but maintain it is coincidental. As one official put it: “There is no political pressure, but that has crossed our minds.” The final consultation is expected next week, and Pennycook confirmed that any new information would be assessed before the decision.
