Rayner facing fight over China ‘super-embassy' in heart of London
Robert Jenrick has called for a judicial review if the Government approves plans for a new Chinese 'super-embassy' in London.
In a highly controversial move, Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, is expected to wave through proposals for a new Chinese complex near the city's financial hub within weeks.
The proposed 'mega embassy' at the former Royal Mint site, near the Tower of London, has been locked in a planning battle for years, with the decision called in for review by Ms Rayner last year.
The Planning Inspectorate, a Government agency, has now reportedly given the development the green light, with the Deputy Prime Minister set to rubber stamp the decision by September.
There have been fears the building could effectively become a nest of spies in the heart of London. The US has reportedly warned the UK to reject the proposals on security grounds given the site's proximity to a hub of sensitive data near key financial centres.
Tory critics of the controversial proposals have accused the Government of capitulating to China and warned that the new embassy would pose a threat to Britain's national security.
Ms Rayner also faces a backlash from her own party if she waves through the application, with one Labour MP telling The Telegraph they thought it would be wrong to approve it.
The backbencher said they had concerns about the possible security implications and warned the UK would 'do well' to listen to Sir Richard Dearlove, a former head of MI6, who highlighted the site's proximity to sensitive communication cables.
Mr Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said he would support a judicial review into the decision if the plans were approved. This would involve challenging the lawfulness of the decision, raising the prospect of it being overturned in the courts.
A judicial review is different to an appeal. It would look at whether the decision was made in the proper manner, rather than the merits of the decision itself.
Mr Jenrick told The Telegraph: 'The super-embassy 'spy hub' would be damaging for our national security, and must be stopped. The process is a fiasco and needs to be reviewed.'
The expectation that the decision will be approved by September was first reported by The Sunday Times, which said the Planning Inspectorate's report had landed on Ms Rayner's desk just under two weeks ago.
Mark Francois, the shadow defence minister, told The Telegraph: 'This Government is rapidly running out of people to surrender to.
'Whether it's the transport unions over drivers' pay, the EU over our fishing rights, Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, Spain over the border at Gibralta, Gerry Adams over Northern Ireland Veterans and now China over their desired 'mega embassy' – atop cables which are critical to the financial security of the Western economies. And this all in less than a year.
'Just think how many other countries and organisations they could abjectly capitulate to, with a bit of real extra effort, over a whole Parliament?'
In a debate on the development earlier this month, Marie Rimmer, the Labour MP for St Helens South and Whiston, warned that China had a 'track record of aggressive state-backed espionage'.
'Surely this country cannot afford to make a massive underestimation of the risk should this go ahead as expected,' she said.
'Experts warn that there could be the foreign leverage of signals, interception and monitoring of sensitive Government and corporate communications. To what extent can individuals make representations, because everyone is extremely concerned that such a massive and historic building was sold some years ago?
'This is pre-empted. This is how China works – it plans years ahead. We cannot not say anything in this House, we must comment on what we see. Please, understand that we must.'
Mark Sewards, the Labour MP for Leeds South West and Morley, added: 'I appreciate that the Minister cannot comment on individual planning applications from the despatch box, but when I speak to Hong Kongers in my constituency, they are seriously concerned about the risks that come with transnational repression and that might come along with the creation and construction of this embassy.'
The row presents an awkward dilemma for Sir Keir Starmer, who has pursued a strategy of engagement with Beijing while attempting to maintain a positive relationship with Donald Trump, a prominent China sceptic.
Earlier this month, Peter Kyle, the Science Secretary, said the UK would offer a 'fulsome response' to any security fears raised.
He said: 'These issues will be taken care of assiduously in the planning process. But just to reassure people, we deal with embassies and these sorts of infrastructure issues all the time. We are very experienced of it, and we are very aware of these sorts of issues constantly, not just when new buildings are being done, but all the time.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
43 minutes ago
- Times
Businesses call for action on abuse of public-facing staff
Business leaders are urging the government to broaden legislative action to protect all public-facing workers amid soaring levels of violence and abuse. Some 42 per cent of workers in pubs, restaurants, hotels and transport said they experienced some form of abuse between October and March, a year-on-year increase of 19 per cent, according to the new figures from the Institute of Customer Service. An all-party parliamentary group, which works alongside the industry group UK Hospitality, whose members include retailers, hospitality groups, call centres and transport companies, has been tracking customer service across all sectors over the past five years. • Extra costs holding back hospitality sector, says Whitbread boss Over a third, or 37 per cent, of the 1,050 respondents to the organisation's latest survey said they had considered leaving their role because of incidents which include racial abuse and sexual harassment, while over a quarter said they had taken sick leave after such incidents. One in five workers said they had been threatened with violence, the highest level that the group had recorded. Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service, said the research showed how 'frontline workers are facing unacceptable levels of assault and abuse from some customers'. Common assault is already an offence and the previous Conservative government had originally rejected calls to create a separate offence specifically linked to shopworkers, arguing it did not think it was 'required or will be most effective'. However, the retail industry argued that incidents were rising and Rishi Sunak's government reversed its position, although its plan to introduce a new offence was abandoned when parliament was dissolved for the general election. • Shops 'at breaking point' as thefts and abuse rocket While there has been a crackdown on retail crime, with a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker in England and Wales set to be introduced as part of the government's Crime and Policing Bill, which is making its way through parliament, businesses are calling for the bill to be amended to include all those working in public-facing roles. In a letter to the government, 76 businesses said that current legislation provided 'only a partial solution to an endemic and preventable issue'. The signatories of the letter include Sky, Hays Travel, Wickes, Virgin Media 02, United Utilities and DPD. 'These professionals form the bedrock to our society and our economy,' the letter said. Causon added: 'Introducing appropriate protection for customer-facing workers is not only the right thing to do on a societal level, it is critical the UK's business performance isn't impacted by workers up and down the country taking time off sick or thinking about leaving their jobs altogether.'
Times
43 minutes ago
- Times
Community Fibre eyes mobile market launch to rival big networks
A broadband company led by the former bosses of EE and Virgin Mobile, and backed by Warburg Pincus, the American private equity firm, is considering the launch of a new mobile telecoms operator. Community Fibre is exploring opportunities to start offering e-Sim services as early as this summer, before eventually rolling out virtual Sim-only contracts, in an effort to capitalise on its existing customer base of almost 400,000 through cross-selling mobile services. An e-Sim replaces the physical Sim card in a phone and enables users to switch easily between different providers, using a cheap local network when travelling. The new operator would initially be launched under the company's existing brand and, like other mobile virtual network operators (MVNO), would use the network of another provider rather than building its own infrastructure. Community Fibre is one of a number of alternative network providers, or 'altnets', that have sprung up in recent years to challenge Openreach and Virgin Media O2 in building full-fibre networks. However, its management team has ample experience in the UK mobile market. Graeme Oxby, its chief executive, previously led mobile operations for Virgin Media, which was later bought by Liberty Global and merged with O2, while Olaf Swantee, Community Fibre's chairman, was the former chief executive of EE before its takeover by BT. Such a move would mark the latest shake-up of the UK's mobile sector, which has led to MVNOs gaining a greater share of the UK market, heaping pressure on the larger network infrastructure operators: EE, O2 and the newly merged Vodafone-Three. Research by Enders Analysis showed that the UK's network operators lost contract subscribers for the first time last year, while MVNOs gained 1.65 million. The research specialist attributes the rise of virtual operators to the cost of living crisis and longer handset lifespans, which has increased demand for Sim-only contracts, 'a traditional area of strength' for the MVNOs. Vodafone-Three has said it is aiming to attract more MVNOs, a market that it has traditionally underplayed in, with only 10 per cent of virtual operators in the UK using its network. However, altnets have also come under increasing pressure from rising costs and debt levels, as well as heightened price competition as providers attempt to recoup the huge investment in building their infrastructure by bringing more customers on to their networks. Community Fibre, which has built out its network to 1.3 million premises, generated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and other items of £8 million last year, which it expects to increase this year. • VMO2 to merge enterprise operations with Daisy Group However, it made a pre-tax loss of £119 million last year, according to its latest accounts filed at Companies House. It has said it expects to be 'cashflow positive' during the first half of next year, from an outflow of £8 million the year before. The challenges have raised expectations of a consolidation within the sector, although merger and acquisition activity has yet to gather momentum, which some analysts have attributed to a lack of potential buyers able to pay cash for targets and institutional backers being unwilling to accept a writedown in the value of their businesses at takeout.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
‘Please don't ask': why the US kept the UK out of the raids on Iran's nuclear sites
The US did not ask to use UK airbases to support its overnight bombing of Iran because that would have required British ministers to take a view on the legality of the attack, according to a former government adviser. Lord Ricketts, a former UK national security chief, said he believed the US concluded it was better not to ask to launch B-2 bombers from the RAF base of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean than to be told no. 'Either the Americans worked it out, or were privately told please don't ask, because it would raise fundamental questions about our taking part,' Ricketts said. 'The US has a different view on international law than the UK does.' On Sunday morning, Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, said that 'no request was made' by the US for help in the bombing. No British airbases or any other military assets were involved in Operation Midnight Hammer, ministers added. The prime minister, Keir Starmer, said the UK had been 'given due notice' of President Donald Trump's intention to bomb Iran, though it is unclear how far in advance this may have been of the bombing raid that took place just before midnight UK time. Officials said notification occurred 'shortly before' the US strikes were launched. In the past, Britain has been eager to act as the US's principal military ally in the Middle East, most notably in 2003 when the UK participated in the controversial ground invasion of Iraq when Tony Blair, then the prime minister, sought to work closely with former president George W Bush. But on this occasion the UK has largely acted as a bystander and has not always appeared to read the ultimate intentions of the US president, who is notoriously unpredictable. Last Tuesday at the G7 summit in Banff, Canada from which Trump departed early because of the Iran crisis, Starmer said there was 'nothing the president said that suggests that he's about to get involved in this conflict', having sat next to him at dinner the previous evening. Those present said that the prime minister seemed confident, even unequivocal in his analysis of the situation. After the summit, reports circulated that the government's most senior lawyer, Richard Hermer, was unconvinced that any UK military involvement in attacking Iran would be legal. One official who had seen Hermer's legal advice told the Spectator 'the AG has concerns about the UK playing any role in this except for defending our allies'. B-2 bombers frequently use the RAF base at Diego Garcia, which is a shorter flight over water to Iran but, as is the case with the use of all UK bases by the US air force, it would require British permission. Similar authorisation would be needed for the US to use RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus for refuelling, though that too was not sought. A graphic released by the Pentagon showed seven B-2 bombers flying from their home base at Whiteman, Missouri across the Atlantic and avoiding passing over European countries by flying over the strait of Gibraltar and through the Mediterranean before going on to Iran via Israel, Jordan and Iraq, a flight path of more than 8,000 miles. Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, said on Sunday morning that 'no other country on planet Earth' could have conducted the bombing raid on Iran, which he later emphasised 'was US operated and US led'. Only assistance from Israel was acknowledged by Gen Dan Caine, the US chair of the joint chiefs of staff, in the former of prior attacks to degrade Iranian air defences. Under international law, a country is allowed to fight in self-defence and the prevailing view is that pre-emptive military strikes are legal if it is believed an incoming military threat is imminent – though the US argues the right of self-defence applies broadly against any illegal use of force against itself or its allies. In justifying the bombing raid on Sunday, Hegseth did not mention the question of imminence. He said: 'The president authorised a precision operation to neutralise the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear programme and the collective self-defence of our troops and our ally Israel.' 'I think to a certain degree the UK government will be relieved' that the US did not ask for help, said Matthew Savill, a former civil servant now with the Royal United Services Institute thinktank. But he cautioned that, despite that, the UK 'could get sucked into the regional blowback' in the form of attacks by Iran or its proxies. On Sunday, UK defence officials said that additional steps had been taken to protect British forces in the Middle East after the US bombing. Force protection at sites such as Akrotiri in Cyprus – where at least 14 Typhoon fighters are stationed – and naval bases in Oman and Bahrain were at the 'highest level,' the defence secretary, John Healey, said. Starmer called for restraint in the response to US strikes on Iran, warning of the possibility of escalation beyond the Middle East. The prime minister spoke to the king of Jordan and the sultan of Oman and called for talks that would end the threat posed by Iran's nuclear programme. 'It is important that we now de-escalate the situation, stabilise the region and get the parties back around the table to negotiate,' he told broadcasters on Sunday morning. 'I'm very clear in my own mind that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon that is the greatest threat to stability in the region.'
