Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
The UK foreign secretary and home secretary have intervened on China’s planning application for an enormous new London embassy, signalling their support while outlining conditions for the proposed site.
In a joint letter to the Planning Inspectorate for England on Tuesday, David Lammy and Yvette Cooper stressed the “importance of countries having functioning diplomatic premises in each other’s capitals”.
The intervention came after Rachel Reeves visited Beijing and Shanghai last week to boost economic ties, the first such trip to the Chinese mainland by a British chancellor since 2017. Lammy visited China last year.
Lammy and Cooper revealed in the letter that the Metropolitan Police had “withdrawn their objection” to Beijing’s proposal to build the diplomatic complex at Royal Mint Court, near the edge of the City of London.
“On balance, the Metropolitan Police’s public order experts are content that there is sufficient space for future protests without significantly impacting the adjacent road network,” the two senior cabinet ministers said in the letter seen by the Financial Times.
But the ministers also demanded China agree to changing a “small element of the design” and to giving up diplomatic accreditation of seven other premises spread across London.
Housing secretary Angela Rayner, who will decide whether the embassy is approved, “should not make a decision on this application until a firm plan is agreed on the consolidation of the Chinese diplomatic premises”, they said.
The Chinese government has emphasised its desire for the new embassy, which would be China’s largest diplomatic mission in Europe, in discussions with London after its initial attempt to gain planning permission was blocked by a local council in 2022.
Chinese President Xi Jinping raised the matter directly with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, after Beijing launched a new application last summer. The Tower Hamlets local authority previously refused to approve the proposal on both security grounds and because of the impact on local residents.
The new complex would occupy more than 20,000 square metres of land and far outstrip the size of China’s current embassy in Marylebone, which is built on an 830 sq m plot.
Lammy and Cooper’s letter acknowledged that the Metropolitan Police “previously raised concerns regarding the ability of the site to accommodate protests” and that “there remain differences of opinion on where protests would most likely congregate”.
The letter demanded the removal of plans for “unregulated public access” to Cistercian ruins within the complex, arguing that the diplomatic status of the site could delay authorities responding to a security incident or health emergency, who would need permission to enter.
Instead, Lammy and Cooper said a hard perimeter to the area was needed, with “occasional controlled public access” negotiated between the Chinese embassy and relevant UK authorities.
The Financial Times revealed in October that Rayner had called in the decision, taking it out of the hands of Tower Hamlets council, and last month that Chinese state enterprises had entered submissions of support for the application to the government.
Rayner will decide whether to approve the embassy after receiving a recommendation from the planning inspector. The UK is also seeking to rebuild its embassy in China, which requires approval from Beijing.
Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), a cross-party group of lawmakers concerned about Beijing, said: “The mask has slipped and it’s now painfully clear that the government is desperate to approve the Chinese application, under pressure from Beijing.
“The national security concerns alone ought to be enough to put a stop to this, but the unanimous will of the local council and residents also matter.”
The UK’s Labour administration has said it is pursuing a “three Cs” approach to Beijing, vowing to co-operate on global issues, such as climate and health, challenge on subjects like human rights, and compete where appropriate.
A UK government spokesperson said: “National security is the first duty of Government. It has been our core priority throughout this process.
“That is why the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Home Office submitted written representations to reflect these considerations and to note the importance of all states having functioning diplomatic premises in each other’s capitals.”
The Metropolitan Police and Chinese embassy in London did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
+ There are no comments
Add yours