Starmer to face legal action on Chinese embassy approval
China’s new “mega” embassy near the City will face a legal challenge from campaigners and local residents despite receiving approval from Keir Starmer’s government after months of diplomatic wrangling and protests highlighting security concerns.
Residents of the Royal Mint Court site, the location where China is planning to build its embassy, have confirmed they will launch a judicial review against the government.
The residents are expected to be represented by Lord Banner KC, the planning guru who advised the government on some of its reforms. He offered a legal view that the Labour government had predetermined the case with a “closed mind”.
Judicial reviews can take years to be completed, with the Tories saying they backed legal action.
Communities secretary Steve Reed approved the controversial diplomatic hub on Tuesday morning following years of delays and deadlines being pushed back.
The decision was made by the government after the sensitive planning application was “called in”.
A government spokesperson said: “This planning decision has been taken independently by the secretary of state for housing. This follows a process that began in 2018 when the then foreign secretary provided formal diplomatic consent for the site.
“More broadly, countries establishing embassies in other countries’ capitals is a normal part of international relations.
“National security is our first duty. Intelligence agencies have been involved throughout the process and an extensive range of measures have been developed to manage any risks.”
Security officials and government ministers have argued that the site has advantages in bringing different Chinese diplomatic buildings into one.
While MI5 director general Sir Ken McCallum and GCHQ director warned in a letter to the home secretary and foreign secretary on Tuesday it would not be “realistic to expect to be able wholly to eliminate each and every potential risk”, it would be “irrational” to eliminate all risks.
“The collective work across UK intelligence agencies and government departments to formulate a package of national security mitigations for the site has been, in our view, expert, professional and proportionate.”
Some of those security mitigations could still be added before Chinese officials move into the site.
Security risks worry local residents
Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have opposed the approval of the embassy while the White House has also expressed its concerns over the plans.
James Cleverly, the shadow communities secretary, said: “This is a disgraceful act of cowardice from a Labour Government and Prime Minister utterly devoid of backbone.”
The Liberal Democrats’ Calum Miller said: “The Prime Minister knows his decision today will amplify China’s surveillance efforts here in the UK and endanger the security of our data.”
Luke de Pulford, director of the inter-parliamentary alliance on China, said: “This is the wrong decision for the UK, sending all the wrong signals. Wrong for dissidents, wrong for UK national security.
Protestors have raised concerns about the threats posed by more Chinese diplomats and spies to Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Chinese dissidents who have gained asylum in the UK.
The embassy’s significant location at the Royal Mint Court site has come under intense scrutiny from former security officials over nearby fibre cables that connect the City to Canary Wharf.
Media reports have uncovered intelligence officials’ concerns about the embassy and unearthed redacted parts of designs submitted to Tower Hamlets council.
Academics suggested that China may be able to access energy cables and sensitive information passing through lines.
Chinese embassy unnerves Canada
Officials at the nearby local authority, the Canada Corporation, have also raised their concerns about the embassy, telling CityAM they were “nervous about the threat” from China.
But the former head of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre, Ciaran Martin, dismissed critics of the new embassy as he said the Prime Minister would not “override” the advice of security services.
“The characterisation of this one area of cables as uniquely sensitive and vulnerable is simplistic,” Martin said in an article for The Times.
“There is a huge amount of sensitive infrastructure all over London. Defending the capital’s cables and other infrastructure from multiple threats is very complex, often highly classified work across many different parts of the city.”
Planning documents also stated there was “no suggestion” that China would be able to access and interfere with cables, with security services not raising concerns on underground infrastructure at any stage of the application.
The security protection relies on China’s “lawful embassy use of the site”.
Tory figures Alicia Kearns and Tom Tugendhat have been two of the most vocal opponents to the new “mega” embassy after the collapse of a Chinese spy case last year involving Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry.
Both deny all allegations of spying for China.
Kearns and Tugendhat said in a letter last year that blocking the embassy plans was an “opportunity to do what’s necessary to protect this country”.
Labour MPs have also opposed the embassy’s approval, including Sarah Champion, who chairs the Commons international development committee.
The approval comes ahead of Starmer’s expected trip to Beijing. He is set to be accompanied by business leaders from the UK to boost trade ties.