The UK government has postponed a decision on whether to approve plans for a Chinese 'super-embassy' in London, citing concerns over redacted drawings in the building's proposals. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was due to rule on the 20,000-square-metre development at Royal Mint Court in east London on 9 September, but has pushed the deadline to 21 October to allow more time for consideration.
The proposed embassy, which would occupy a five-acre site, has faced strong opposition from local residents and campaigners who cite concerns over China's human rights record in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. Several large protests have taken place outside the site in recent months. Earlier this month, Rayner gave the Chinese embassy two weeks to provide additional details, noting that two proposed buildings—the cultural exchange building and Embassy House—had been 'greyed out' in the drawings.
In a letter, Rayner asked the planning consultancy handling the proposal to identify all redacted drawings and explain the rationale for the redactions. The consultancy responded this week, stating it was 'neither necessary nor appropriate' to provide full internal layout plans, adding that the unredacted plans contained sufficient detail to identify main uses. Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, called the explanations 'far from satisfactory', warning that dissidents visiting the abbey ruins on the site would be on Chinese land and vulnerable to capture.
The Chinese embassy in the UK urged the government to 'fulfil its obligation and approve the planning application without delay', stating that the plans were of high quality and followed customary diplomatic practices. China bought the Royal Mint Court site for £255 million in 2018, but plans stalled after Tower Hamlets council refused planning permission in 2022. The Conservative government declined to intervene, but Labour called in the decision after taking power. The embassy's fate has become a major issue in UK-China relations, with President Xi Jinping raising it with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in their first phone call last August.
