🔗 Share this article

A ruling on whether to sanction Chinese proposal for a fresh substantial consulate in London has been delayed again by the authorities.

Residential Affairs Secretary Steve Reed had been scheduled to decide on the request by 21 October, but the cut-off date has been pushed back to 10 December.

It is the second occasion the administration has postponed a decision on the controversial site, whose position has sparked worries it could pose an spying threat.

A determination had originally been due by 9 September after ministers assumed authority of the process from Tower Hamlets, the municipal authority, last year.

Safety Worries Raised

China bought the property of the suggested recent embassy, at Royal Mint Court, close to the Tower of London, for £255m in 2018. At 20,000 square metres, the planned facility would be the largest embassy in Europe should it proceed.

The awaiting ruling on whether to authorize the recent embassy was previously under detailed review because of apprehensions about the security implications of the proposal, including the placement, scale and architecture of the building.

The location is adjacent to data transmission cables carrying messages to and from economic establishments in the City of London. Apprehensions have been raised that China representatives could employ the site to intercept the cables and monitor communications.

Latest Changes

Additional inquiries have been highlighted in the past few weeks about the type of the threat presented by Beijing, following the collapse of the legal proceeding against two men alleged of intelligence gathering for China.

The Crown Prosecution Service surprisingly discontinued prosecutions against parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash, 30, and university researcher Christopher Berry, 33, last month. Both men refute the accusations.

Earlier Postponements

The administration's first delay was asked for by Reed's former secretary Angela Rayner, after she inquired China to explain why certain areas within its planning documents had been redacted for "protection issues".

Architectural specialists representing the Chinese embassy had responded that China "does not feel that, as a basic concept, it is required or appropriate to supply complete interior designs".

Rayner had responded in writing to parties participating in the consultation, including China, the Metropolitan Police and a community organization, to allow additional time to reply to the plans and putting the time limit forward to 21 October.

Current Situation

Reed, who took over the residential portfolio following Rayner's departure last month, has now asked for more time before a final decision must be reached.

In a letter seen by media outlets, the housing department said more time was necessary due to the "detailed nature" of responses collected previously.

It mentioned that it was unable to establish a fresh cut-off date for additional feedback until it obtains outstanding replies from the Diplomatic Service and Interior Ministry.

Planned Amenities

The suggested development would contain work spaces, a substantial underground space, accommodation for 200 personnel, and a recent underground connection to connect the Embassy House to a distinct structure on the consulate property.

Political Reactions

Beijing's application for the embassy was initially rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022 over security and protection worries.

It submitted again an identical request to the council in August 2024, one month after Labour came to power.

The China Consulate in the UK has formerly mentioned the new complex would improve "shared productive collaboration" between China and Britain.

In a fresh official communication issued accompanying Reed's correspondence clarifying his reasons for the most recent postponement, a China diplomat said disapprovals to the location were "either unsubstantiated or unreasonable".

Opposition Views

The Political Rivals said Government officials should dismiss the application, and charged them of trying to "silence the warnings about the threats to country protection" created by the diplomatic property.

The Alternative Group also requested the application to be blocked, encouraging the administration to "confront China".

International Relations representative Calum Miller said it would be "crazy" for government officials to permit the diplomatic project to proceed, after warnings from the head of MI5 on Thursday about the danger of Chinese espionage.

Security Worries

A former chief advisor to Boris Johnson said MI5 and MI6 had warned him China was "attempting to construct a intelligence facility below the embassy," when he was working at Downing Street.

Remarks made on a public affairs broadcast, the advisor said the agencies had advised him that allowing the embassy to be constructed would be "an extremely bad idea".

In his annual speech, the intelligence chief said "Beijing government agents" represented a state security danger to the UK "every day".

He mentioned that the UK needed to "protect itself firmly" against China, while also being able to "capitalize on the chances" from sustaining ties with Beijing.