The ‘super embassy’ which has sparked uproar as Starmer seeks reset with China ...Middle East

Protesters objecting to plans for China’s new “super-embassy” will flock to the proposed site in London on Saturday afternoon before the Government’s crunch decision on whether to approve the build.

More than 1,000 protesters are due to object to the plans outside the proposed site of Royal Mint Court, a historic site near the Tower of London, as the UK Government grapples with what has become a diplomatic headache.

China wants to turn 20,000sq m (almost five acres) of land on the bank of the River Thames in to what would be the largest embassy in Europe – dwarfing the United States’ 12-storey embassy in Nine Elms.

The embassy would also be nearly three times larger than the MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall, while due to the sheer size of the building, it would seem logical that China’s diplomatic staff numbers would increase from 124.

Beijing purchased the site in 2018 for £255m but has struggled to gain approval to break ground. Tower Hamlets council in 2022 refused planning permission for the site as councillors threatened to rename roads and buildings in the local area Tiananmen Square, Uyghur Court, Hong Kong Road and Tibet Hill.

The planning application has remained a geo-political issue for successive governments. The Conservatives refused to force through planning permission in 2023 after Tower Hamlets denied the plans – a move which reportedly strained relations with Beijing.

Rishi Sunak’s Government remained relatively hawkish over China, with the then-prime minister warning that Beijing was intent on plans to “reshape the world order” and remained “the biggest long-term threat to Britain”.

Sunak, however, defied many senor Tories by dismissing calls for Beijing to be formally categorised as a threat. His predecessor Liz Truss maintained China should be reclassified instead of being branded a “systemic challenge” while former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith accused Sunak of “kowtowing” and being soft on Beijing.

Calling for intervention in 2023 after the council’s denial, the Chinese foreign ministry in a statement urged the British government to meet its “international obligation” to help it build a new embassy and find a solution “on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit”.

Beijing resubmitted the application after Labour came to power last year and Chinese President Xi Jinping raised the ongoing issue with Sir Keir Starmer when the two leaders met in November last year. Both the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have signalled their support for the proposed builds.

The development comes as the UK Government seeks to forge closer trade links with Beijing amid concerns over Chinese interference in the UK, with alleged spies infiltrating the establishment and secret police stations being used to intimidate dissidents in Britain.

UK trade with China has grown almost five-fold in the last 20 years, according to the House of Commons Library, with Beijing thought to be the UK’s fifth or sixth biggest trading partner, accounting for 4 per cent of exports and 7 per cent of imports.

Yang Tengbo, who is said to have become a “close” confidant of the Duke of York and has also been pictured with senior politicians including Lord David Cameron and Baroness Theresa May, was in December named by the High Court as an alleged Chinese spy.

He was banned from the UK in 2023 but officials said he formed an “unusual degree of trust” with Prince Andrew and developed relationships with politicians to be “leveraged” by China.

Lawyer Christine Lee was also accused of trying to influence MPs and peers on behalf of China in 2022, with officials arguing she tried to interfere in the British democratic process. Lee was active in promoting Anglo-Chinese relations, received an award from May and donated £584,177 to the office of the Labour MP Barry Gardiner.

A local inquiry hearing will begin next week on whether to allow the build. Local residents largely remain opposed to the plans and have organised the protest on Saturday afternoon.

The inquiry will hear the plans at the planning inspectorate on Tuesday and will sit for up to six days. After the embassy scheme was “called in” by the Government, Angela Rayner, as the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, will make the final decision.

It has led to calls for the country to be placed in the enhanced tier of the forthcoming Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, a status reserved for nations that pose a risk to the safety of the UK’s interests.

Other campaigners and lawmakers less hawkish on China have called for the UK to take advantage of the current international climate and build relations with Beijing after US President Donald Trump imposed heavy tariffs on Chinese imports while trade tensions remain between Bejing and the EU.

Britain’s intelligence services have meanwhile warned of the proposed site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables which could be susceptible to attack.

A 2019 report assessing China’s threat to the UK, compiled by multiple British intelligence agencies, specifically cited key fibre-optic cables running in the vicinity of the proposed embassy site, sources told The i Paper last month.

A high-ranking ex-MI6 officer previously told The i Paper the huge site close to the City of London’s financial centre will inevitably be used for “electronic collection”.

British and American spy chiefs, in a rare public statement following a conference in September last year, warned China was “the principal intelligence and geopolitical challenge of the 21st century”.

MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore and CIA director Bill Burns, in a joint article penned for the Financial Times, wrote: “There is no question that the international world order – the balanced system that has led to relative peace and stability and delivered rising living standards, opportunities and prosperity – is under threat in a way we haven’t seen since the Cold War.”

I'm a pensioner trying to stop China building its 'super embassy' on my doorstep

Campaign groups representing China’s Uyghur population – a mostly Muslim ethnic group in the north-western region of Xinjiang which has been subject to ethnic cleansing, according to the UN – will also be present alongside Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Chinese dissidents.

Groups include the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, the World Uyghur Congress, and the Global Alliance for Tibet and Persecuted Minorities.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick, former security minister Tom Tuhgendhat and Labour MP Blair McDougall, a member of the foreign affairs select committee, are expected to address the demonstration.

Coaches are also shuttling demonstrators from Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland.

The Metropolitan Police initially submitted an objection to the embassy build last year over fears that there would not be enough space in front of the bounding to safely accommodate more than 100 protestors. Any demonstrations would disrupt local roads and risk public safety, Scotland Yard argued.

The objection was later withdrawn after the force was provided with “additional information” in the form of a 2022 10-page report titled “pedestrian comfort level assessment” drawn up for the Chinese government by design firms. It estimated that nearly 2,000 could safely protest in front of the site and up to 4,500 people on the streets surrounding it.

Tower Hamlets council has also since withdrawn its objection.

Organisers – alongside objecting to the principle of the so-called “super-embassy” – are seeking to prove that the Met was initially right that the embassy would be a prime target for demonstrations and could not safely accommodate hoards of people.

Groups have invited the planning inspector in charge of assessing the application to attend.

The Government, Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Tower Hamlets council were approached for comment. The Chinese Embassy in London was also contacted for comment.

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