Angela Rayner orders China to explain redacted mega-embassy plans

Times

3 days ago

The deputy prime minister has told China that it must explain why parts of the plans for its new mega-embassy in London have been redacted as she prepares to rule on whether it can go ahead.
Angela Rayner, who is also the minister in charge of planning, has given Beijing two weeks to justify why several areas are blacked out in drawings of its proposed redevelopment of the former home of the Royal Mint.
In a letter from her department, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, it was revealed that a decision will be taken on the giant embassy on or before September 9.
The department said that while 'no view has yet been formed', Rayner had been made aware of 'concerns' over redacted parts of the plans. It told Beijing that it must provide unredacted versions of the plans or 'identify precisely and comprehensively' the plans that have been redacted and to 'explain the rationale and justification'.
The letter also said the Home Office had pointed out that a 'hard perimeter' would be needed around the embassy but that this may need a new planning application.
Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which revealed the letter, told The Times: 'There's such hubris in Beijing that they think they can get away with simply hiding swathes of their mega-embassy from legitimate scrutiny.
'They also think they can bluntly refuse the very modest conditions placed upon their disastrous development by the foreign and home secretaries, and have their plan get the green light regardless.
'The government should stand firm by their conditions, because China won't meet them in time. This letter could be the beginning of the end for this ruinous plan.'
The letter from Rayner's department suggested she would need to be persuaded that she could make a 'lawful determination' on the plans if they remained redacted.
Beijing plans to move its diplomatic mission in the UK to Royal Mint Court, a 5.5-acre site in East Smithfield on the east side of the City of London. It was home to the Royal Mint until 1967.
It would be the largest Chinese embassy in Europe. The 20,000 sq m plot would be transformed into an enormous complex designed by Sir David Chipperfield, the prizewinning architect behind the Neues Museum in Berlin and the Turner Contemporary in Margate.
The planning decision for the embassy was called in by Rayner, the housing secretary, last year. The plan was initially refused by Tower Hamlets council in 2022.
Sir Keir Starmer's government has attempted to improve relations with China since last year's general election but he has been urged by the United States to block Beijing's plans.
The Chinese embassy in London was contacted for comment.