Labour DELAYS decision on new Chinese super-embassy in London amid furious row over spying case
Labour has delayed a decision over whether to approve a new Chinese 'super-embassy' in London until just before Christmas, it was revealed today.
Beijing wants to create a huge diplomatic headquarters on an historic site near the City of London despite opposition from campaigners and local communities.
A decision on whether the Government would give the go-ahead for the development had been due by a 21 October deadline.
But Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Steve Reed has now pushed back that deadline until 10 December.
In a letter to DP9, the planning consultancy working for the Chinese government, Mr Reed's department said he needed more time 'for full consideration of the applications'.
'The Secretary of State hereby gives notice that he has varied the timetable for the decision which was previously set, and a decision will now be issued on or before 10 December 2025,' it added.
The delay comes amid a furious row over the collapse of the trial of Christopher Cash, 30, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, 33, a teacher, last month.
The two men were accused of spying for China and were charged last year under the Official Secrets Act. They both denied the charges.
The case was dropped after the Government failed to provide evidence that would support the assertion that China represented a threat to national security.
Luke de Pulford, of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said: 'We know the UK is under heavy diplomatic pressure from China to green-light the embassy application.
'It is very difficult to believe that this delay has not been caused by the current spy scandal, making it impossible to approve the application without seeming unacceptably weak on China.'
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pictured with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Brazil last year
An artist's illustration of the proposed frontage of the Chinese embassy in Tower Hamlets, east London
China wants to create a huge diplomatic headquarters on an historic site near the City of London
Ministers have blamed the collapse of the spying case on the previous Tory administration for failing to officially designate China as a threat while in office.
But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has suggested Labour took 'a deliberate decision to collapse the case' in order to 'curry favour' with Beijing.
Newly-released statements provided by deputy national security adviser Matt Collins, as part of the Crown Prosecution Service's case, have prompted fresh questions about why it collapsed.
They showed the Government's evidence warned of Beijing's large-scale espionage but stressed the desire to seek a positive relationship with the economic superpower.
MPs are meanwhile due to hold an inquiry into the case.
China bought the former home of the Royal Mint, near the Tower of London, for £255million in 2018.
It purchased the historic site with the aim of moving its embassy eastwards across London from its current Marylebone location.
But China's plans for a 'super embassy' were left in disarray after its proposed redevelopment of Royal Mint Court was rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022.
It had been thought Beijing had subsequently scrapped the plans but - following Labour's general election victory last year - a planning application was resubmitted.
In a letter to DP9, the planning consultancy working for the Chinese government, Steve Reed's department said he needed more time 'for full consideration of the applications'
Sir Keir Starmer later revealed that ministers took over decision-making for the proposed embassy after the Chinese President raised it with him.
The Prime Minister said the Government had 'called in' China's planning application after a phone call with Xi Jinping.
Mr Reed on Tuesday insisted national security concerns will be 'paramount' in the embassy decision.
He said he expected to see full, unredacted plans for the proposed site before making his decision.
Drawings of the site originally submitted as part of the planning process contained blacked-out areas.
This fuelled suspicions from China hawks that Beijing intends to use the site as a base for espionage activities.
Sir James Cleverly, the Tory shadow housing secretary, said: 'It is essential the planning review has access to the full unredacted drawings for the Chinese embassy, and that the UK security agencies are able to submit evidence in private, using established processes.
'The Government has actively sought to silence the warnings about the threats to national security from the mega-embassy.
'If Keir Starmer had any backbone, he would ensure his Government threw out this sinister application – as Ireland and Australia did when faced with similar embassy development proposals from Russia.'
Calum Miller, the Liberal Democrats' foreign affairs spokesperson, said: 'This week we have seen the extent of China's espionage efforts laid bare.
'But instead of blocking the monster embassy for good, the Government is kicking the can down the road in the hope no one will notice if it approves it at a later stage.
'It's beyond time this embassy proposal was put out of its misery - and that the Government send a signal to China that we will no longer roll over in the face of their industrial espionage.'
Sir Keir's official spokesman told reporters on Thursday: 'Given the detailed nature of the representations that have been provided, and the need to give parties sufficient opportunity to respond, MHCLG (The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) consider that more time is needed for full consideration of the applications.
'You are aware that this is a quasi-judicial decision, independent from the rest of Government. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment further when the case is before MHCLG ministers.'
The new December 10 deadline date for a decision is 'not legally binding', the spokesman added, suggesting the timeline could slip again in future.
