UK will handle US security concerns over new Chinese embassy plan, says Kyle
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle indicated the UK would offer a 'fulsome response' to any concerns raised by allies amid suggestions that US opposition could undermine transatlantic trade negotiations.
Mr Kyle sought to reassure the public that the Government deals with similar 'infrastructure issues' relating to embassies 'all the time'.
'These issues will be taken care of assiduously in the planning process,' he told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme.
He added: 'These are the issues that we talk about as two countries all the time… we're in the Five Eyes agreement, America and Britain share intelligence… If people raise security issues even though it relates to planning, then I'm sure we will have a fulsome response for them.
'But look, the key thing is these are issues which are quite routinised in the way that we deal with the security of our country.'
A senior US official had told the Sunday Times: 'The United States is deeply concerned about providing China with potential access to the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.'
The matter is believed to have been discussed during US-UK trade talks, with diplomats saying the Trump administration would have reservations about intelligence sharing with the UK if the building went ahead.
More than a thousand demonstrators gathered earlier this year for a rally against the proposed Chinese 'super-embassy' because of concerns about its potential proximity to Canary Wharf and the City of London.
The redevelopment plans at the former site of the Royal Mint were 'called in' last year, which means the Government will make the final decision following a report from the Planning Inspectorate.
The plan was initially refused by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022.
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