Angela Rayner has given Beijing just two weeks to explain why it has redacted blueprints for sections of its planned “mega-embassy” in London, including basement areas that critics fear could be used for espionage.
The Housing Secretary, responsible for deciding whether the controversial project at Royal Mint Court can proceed, has written to China demanding clarification after certain areas on submitted floor plans were “greyed out” reports The Telegraph.
The move comes amid mounting anxiety that the new embassy complex might become a hub of covert activity in the capital. There are particular concerns that basement rooms could serve as what some have dubbed “spy dungeons”.
Ms Rayner’s demands are detailed in an update from her department sent to DP9, the planning consultancy acting on behalf of the Chinese embassy. The intervention signals a possible shift in the Government’s handling of the sensitive application.
Despite direct lobbying from China’s premier Xi Jinping, Sir Keir Starmer has so far declined to intervene, even as pressure mounts from the United States to block the project on security grounds.
The letter from Ms Rayner, dispatched on Wednesday, was also sent to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, with local council officials and the Metropolitan Police copied in.
Blueprint for disaster
It revealed that Ms Rayner has specifically asked Beijing to account for why some drawings within the embassy plans have been redacted, including a proposed basement “master plan” featuring suites of anonymous rooms and a tunnel previously highlighted by critics as a potential “modern-day dungeon” for spies.
A note attached to one diagram reads: “This drawing has been redacted for security reasons.” The letter also points out that details of two buildings—the Cultural Exchange Building and Embassy House—both containing basements, have been “greyed out”.
Ms Rayner’s correspondence goes on to request representations about whether she can make a “lawful determination” on planning permission given the redacted nature of the plans.
The departmental update was shared online by Luke de Pulford, head of the Interparliamentary Alliance on China, who was also included in the correspondence.
‘Inappropriate’
The development is likely to reignite widespread concern about the proposed embassy. Critics have repeatedly warned it could pose a risk to UK national security. The US is understood to have urged Britain to reject the proposals due to their proximity to sensitive data hubs near key financial districts.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Conservative leader, wrote to Ms Rayner last month repeating these concerns and arguing it would be “inappropriate” to approve the application until a plan is in place to address such a “serious matter”.
The planned Chinese embassy at Royal Mint Court, close to the Tower of London, has been entangled in a long-running planning dispute. Ms Rayner called in the decision for review last year.
