China's London mega-embassy could be scrapped amid claims ministers rigged decision in secret deal

The Sun

a day ago

CHINA's bid to build a mega-embassy in the heart of London could be scrapped amid bombshell claims ministers rigged the decision behind closed doors.
A senior Tory says ministers privately gave Beijing the nod before the official process began - raising fears the final call is now 'unlawful' and could be thrown out in court.
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Shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake has written to the Cabinet Secretary demanding the controversial application be halted and restarted from scratch.
His explosive letter, seen by The Sun, points to a string of evasive answers to parliamentary questions, a 'call-in' of the decision from local council control, and Chinese media crowing that the UK quietly 'greenlit' the plan just 48 hours after a Government trade mission to Beijing.
He warned ministers may have 'fettered' the legal independence of Deputy PM Angela Rayner - who must decide the case fairly in a quasi-judicial role - by sending political signals before any evidence was reviewed.
Mr Hollinrake wrote: 'There is a clear case that the Government codes and guidance have been breached, and Government Ministers have acted unlawfully.
"In turn, that opens the Government up to a judicial review.
"This will be expensive and reputationally damaging to the UK Government.
"I would therefore ask that the planning process is halted and started afresh from scratch."
China wants to turn the five-acre Royal Mint Court site near the Tower of London - next to sensitive data cables and Whitehall offices - into its biggest embassy in Europe.
The plans have been bogged down in a national security row for years, with Tower Hamlets Council rejecting them in 2022.
But Chinese officials revived their bid only weeks after Labour took power.
A former Foreign Office official told The Sun Chinese diplomats made it clear before the election they wouldn't come back unless the UK gave them quiet guarantees it would be approved.
The ex-official said: 'They wouldn't have come back unless the UK signalled it would be waved through."
Chinese state-linked media reports from Baidu also show how Beijing interpreted a visit by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as a breakthrough in the row back in January.
One article reads: "After six years of diplomatic deadlock, within merely 48 hours a monumental change has taken place: the English/British government has clearly expressed support for China to build a new embassy in London."
The reports came as Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also sent letters to the Planning Inspectorate backing the plan.
Top barrister Richard Harwood KC told The Sun the process could now be challenged in court if ministers gave the impression it was a done deal.
He said: 'If the judge thinks that the government have given impression that they just want to approve it for political, in terms of international political reasons, rather than the planning merits and we were signalling that to the Chinese government in advance, then there's clearly a strong chance that the court would find that is unlawful."
On the Government's move to take over the decision from Tower Hamlets, he added: "It's relatively unusual to get an application called in before the council decided what it was going to do about it."
The Shadow Housing Secretary also revealed how the Cabinet Office has refused to release records of key meetings, calls and emails between Chinese diplomats, ministers, No10 and the Foreign Office - despite admitting they exist.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick, who has campaigned against China's bid for the embassy, blasted: "This whole process is a fiasco.
"Starmer, Lammy and Cooper are more interested in bending backwards for a hostile state than defending the security of British people."
And Luke de Pulford, head of cross-party group IPAC, added: "If assurances over the mega-embassy have been given to Beijing, the whole process should be aborted and a public inquiry announced.
"Beijing said themselves they would not apply again unless given the green light by government, and those of us opposing the plan have often felt like planning law was just window dressing for a done deal.
"Time to drag this murky embassy business into the light.'
The row comes as the US and Dutch governments have both raised alarm over the embassy's location at Royal Mint Court, near critical data infrastructure in the capital.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government said: "Planning casework decisions are at a matter for MHCLG.
"Ministers hold a quasi-judicial role in the planning process and adhere to the published propriety guidance when taking decisions.'