Keir Starmer’s government is playing directly into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, having on Tuesday given approval for Beijing to build its new embassy in London.
The huge (215,000 square-foot/20,000 square metre) site near the Tower of London has been suitably dubbed a ‘mega-embassy’ and is indeed set to become the biggest embassy in Europe.
Critics say it will amount to a “spy hub in the heart of our financial capital.” More than a week before the Labour government gave its seal of approval, The Daily Telegraphrevealed what it described as “detailed plans for an underground complex below the vast diplomatic site in central London, which Beijing has sought to keep from public scrutiny.” This would be built alongside Britain’s most sensitive communication cables.
Former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, whose criticism of Beijing has resulted in him being sanctioned by China, accused Starmer’s team of acting “recklessly,” saying:
The consequence of all this is increased interference, growing transnational pressure, and the steady creep of sanctions and influence through investment from a country that routinely subsidises its industries in breach of international rules.
China already has an embassy in London and had threatened to withhold permission for the refurbishment of Britain’s own embassy in Beijing if it was rejected.
The approval has even received criticism from Labour’s own benches. Sarah Champion MP said that “with China’s record on transnational repression, the site’s proximity to sensitive cabling and relentless threats to our national security, this embassy should not be granted planning.”
And in the U.S., House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson noted the “symbolism” behind the fact that China had been able to acquire the site rather than, say, America. But he added that the move—like much of what happens in Europe—did not mark a “great development from our perspective.”
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
