UK shadow ministers join protest against China's mega embassy plan

LONDON: UK shadow ministers and fellow Opposition Conservative Party parliamentarians were among hundreds of protesters who descended upon the proposed site of China's so-called mega embassy in east London. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat and former Tory leader Ian Duncan Smith joined groups representing Hong Kongers, Uyghurs and Tibetans at the site of the historic Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London on Saturday.

Shadow ministers are members of the opposition who scrutinise the work of the government.

According to UK media reports, the protesters wanted to register their opposition against a much-larger new embassy which they fear could be used as a "spy hub" if it is allowed permission to go ahead as one of China's largest diplomatic missions in Europe.

"We do not want this great historical building behind us - in the shadow of the Tower of London - to become a mega embassy of the Chinese Community Party," Jenrick told the gathering.

"This is the wrong site. It is the wrong process and it is wrong for the national security of our country," said the former housing minister.

The Metropolitan Police clashed with the protesters, who had gathered in large numbers to demonstrate the site's disruptive potential as a massive embassy with offices and homes, with slogans such as "Stand with Hong Kong" and "Mega Embassy, Mega No" ringing out.

China bought the 20,000 square metres of land at Royal Mint Court in 2018 for GBP 225 million and submitted plans to the local Tower Hamlets Council to turn the site into a much larger London embassy than its current location at Portland Place, near Baker Street.

The council had first rejected a planning application to develop the site in 2022 before it was resubmitted last year, which it had again refused at an extraordinary meeting of the Strategic Development Committee in December last year.

Its rejection is due to concerns over the impact on resident and tourist safety, heritage, police resources and highway safety given the "congested nature of the area".

However, the final decision now rests with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner after a "call-in" by her Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as the ultimate decision maker.

"The Council has been notified by the Metropolitan Police that it has formally removed its objection to the planning application as it feels there is sufficient space for future protests to be accommodated without significantly impacting the adjacent road network," a Tower Hamlets Council spokesperson said.

"The process now being followed is that a public inquiry will be held in front of a Planning Inspector from February 11-18. Following the inquiry, the Inspector will recommend to the Secretary of State whether permission should be granted or not. The Secretary of State will then make the final decision," the spokesperson added.

The MCLG Secretary of State can "call in" planning applications where they consider there may be issues of national significance, having regard to published government policy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is believed to have raised the issue directly with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.