London, Jan 20 (PTI) The UK government on Tuesday approved China’s plans for a so-called mega or super embassy in the heart of London, overriding security concerns raised by parliamentarians and campaigners to stress that all “material considerations” had been taken into account. The planning permission for the proposed construction at the 20,000-square-metre site of the former Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London had been “called in” for a ministerial review as a matter of national significance.
The Labour Party government’s own MPs and Opposition Tories were among those strongly opposed to the plans being greenlit, given the site’s proximity to the City of London financial district and characterising China as a “hostile state”. “This statement follows the decision I made today to grant planning permission and listed building consent for a new embassy in London,” said Steve Reed, the UK Housing and Communities Secretary who formally approved the plans this week. “All material considerations were taken into account when making this decision. The decision is now final unless it is successfully challenged in court,” he said. The minister said his decision was in line with the recommendation of the independent Planning Inspector, who held a public inquiry into the case in February last year. “This means they must make decisions fairly, based on evidence and planning rules,” he added. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) released a 240-page document detailing the rationale behind the planning go-ahead for the new embassy. “To conclude, I am of the clear view that the proposal complies with the development plan when taken as a whole. There are no other material considerations which would warrant a conclusion other than that planning permission and listed building consent should be granted,” reads the report by Planning Inspector Claire Searson. “Put simply, the proposed scheme is in accordance with the development plan when considered as a whole… Similarly, for the listed building consent application, the works would preserve the building and its special interest and thus should also be approved. This is uncontested,” it states. She highlights in her analysis that planning permissions are granted on a “nation-neutral” basis under the Vienna Convention.
“In this regard, any ethical or similar objection to the provision of an embassy for a specific country cannot be a material planning consideration. It would not be lawful to refuse permission simply because it would be for a Chinese Embassy… The same would hold for any other specific country seeking an embassy use through the planning system,” her report notes.
China bought the historic site in 2018 for 225 million pounds 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.
Since then, the plans were rejected and “called in” by the government but it emerged in recent weeks that the UK’s MI5 and MI6 security services had not raised any formal objections to the plans. Downing Street, meanwhile, believes that consolidating China’s diplomatic premises onto one single site would offer some security advantages.
The UK government issued a statement to say that the planning decision was taken “independently” following a process that began in 2018, when the then Tory government 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,” a government spokesperson said.
“Following extensive negotiations in recent months, the Chinese government has agreed to consolidate its seven current sites in London into one site, bringing clear security advantages,” the spokesperson added. This approval was widely expected ahead of an expected visit later this month to Beijing by Keir Starmer, the first China tour by a British Prime Minister in eight years.
“Labour’s decision to grant the Chinese Communist Party their super embassy spyhub in the heart of London is wrong,” said UK shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel.
“Keir Starmer has undermined our national security and rewarded a regime that’s damaging our interests, threatening Hong Kongers living here, and continues to imprison Jimmy Lai.
“Labour has kowtowed to China rather than defend our national interests,” said the Indian-origin senior Opposition Tory leader.
Last week, nine Labour members of Parliament had written to the housing secretary asking him to reject the plans, with the issue also raised in the House of Commons.
“Every security briefing I had identifies China as a hostile state to the UK. I am in no doubt that this mega embassy should not be allowed to go ahead. Internationally, China is terrorising people of Hong Kong. It is terrorising democratic people in Taiwan and it is terrorising some people already in the UK.
“I want my government to stand up to bullies, not reward them. We need to be seeing rules, limits put in place around China to stop this behaviour, not rewarding them with the embassy that they so dearly want,” Labour MP Sarah Champion told Parliament.
China has previously dismissed all espionage claims, with an embassy spokesperson saying that “anti-China elements are always keen on slandering and attacking” the country. PTI AK GRS GRS GRS
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