Critics expected to mount legal challenge to plans for vast complex at Royal Mint Court amid security concerns<\/b>
\nCritics expected to mount legal challenge to plans for vast complex at Royal Mint Court amid security concerns
The UK government has approved the construction of a vast new Chinese embassy complex in east London, despite concerns about security and its impact on political exiles in the capital.
The decision brings to an end, for now at least, the saga that has been running since 2018 over the site at Royal Mint Court near Tower Bridge.
However, residents of Royal Mint Court plan to mount a legal challenge to the decision within weeks, amid concerns they could be forced out of their homes, and potentially delaying the project by months or years.
MPs from across the political spectrum voiced their opposition to the application, although the security services have said they can handle the risks of espionage that may stem from the enlarged site, which sits close to data cables that run to the City of London.
The former head of GCHQ\u2019s national cybersecurity centre Ciaran Martin said on Sunday that the British intelligence agencies would not allow the new \u2018mega embassy\u2019 to go ahead if it posed unmanageable risks.
Although officials say there has been no political input in the planning process, the green light is likely to smooth relations before Keir Starmer\u2019s visit to China, expected at the end of January.
Beijing has made the embassy a priority in the UK-China relationship. Xi Jinping, China\u2019s leader, raised the matter directly with the prime minister in their first phone call in August 2024.
The UK\u2019s plans to redevelop its own outpost in China\u2019s capital have been blocked for years by Xi\u2019s government because of the London embassy row.<\/p>\n