News Beat
US ‘deeply concerned’ after Chinese ‘super-embassy’ approved in London
US officials have said they are “deeply concerned” by Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to approve a Chinese “super embassy” in London, despite concerns raised by security experts and international allies.
The government gave the green light to a planning application on Tuesday, undeterred by warnings from MI5 that it cannot “eliminate every potential risk” posed by the new site.
The US is the latest UK ally to weigh in on the plans, amid growing tensions between Sir Keir and Donald Trump following the US president’s outburst over the Chagos Islands deal on Tuesday.
Following the approval of the embassy, a senior US official told The Telegraph that they were “deeply concerned about adversaries exploiting the critical infrastructure of our closest allies”.
Beijing’s proposals for the building are reported to include 208 secret rooms and a hidden chamber in the basement.
Those opposed to the plans fear the hidden chamber would be located in close proximity to data cables used by Britain’s financial industry for communications between the City of London and Canary Wharf.
There are also concerns that the secret rooms could be used for the detention of dissidents who have fled China for safety in Britain.
The concern from the US comes after Labour MPs revealed on Monday that several other UK allies have raised fears about the plans.
Sarah Champion, chair of the international development select committee, said in an urgent Commons debate: “We’ve now had interventions from the Dutch government, Swiss parliament, Swedish parliament and two interventions from the White House about the risks posed to UK infrastructure by the cabling that runs along the Royal Mint Court.”
MI5 director general Sir Ken McCallum and GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler, have warned ministers that national security risks cannot be wholly eliminated, but said intelligence agencies had created a “package of national security mitigations”.
In a letter sent to the foreign secretary and home secretary, they said the package of mitigations – including measures for cabling.
These mitigations will be subject to regular review through a cross-government process, led at senior level in the Home Office.
Local government secretary Steve Reed approved plans for the building at Royal Mint Court, near the Tower of London, on Tuesday.
The decision came at the end of a long-running campaign against the proposals, which campaigners and MPs have said would provide a base for Chinese spying and security crackdowns.
Luke de Pulford, head of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, told the Press Association: “Years of campaigning about the obvious and manifold risks posed by this embassy development have not been enough to outweigh the UK government’s desire for Beijing’s money.”
Despite these concerns, the government said the risks could be managed, and Security minister Dan Jarvis told MPs there were “national security advantages” to the plans, which will consolidate seven Chinese diplomatic buildings into one site.
He was “assured that the UK national security is protected” and any risks posed by the new embassy were being “appropriately managed”.
Earlier, the prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters that classified facilities were “a standard part of any significant diplomatic presence”, and hit back at opponents of the plans, branding them “either naive or recklessly isolationist”.
