"Keir Starmer Set to Greenlight Chinese Mega-Embassy Amid Security Warnings and Beijing's Threats"
Published on November 21, 2025 at 12:22 AM
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Sir Keir Starmer is expected to approve a new Chinese mega-embassy in London next month, despite significant security concerns.
The contentious plan has received approval from both MI5 and MI6, following warnings that failure to approve the plans could lead to repercussions.
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to approve a new Chinese mega-embassy in London next month, despite significant security concerns.
China aims to transform the Royal Mint Court site, adjacent to the Tower of London, into what would be the largest embassy in Europe.Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
The controversial plan has been approved by both MI5 and MI6 after Beijing warned that the Prime Minister would face ‘consequences’ if the plans don’t receive approval.
Starmer is expected to deliver his final decision on December 10, with a source from Whitehall indicating that the outcome appears to be a mere “formality,” as reported by The Times .
The Foreign Office is not anticipated to raise any formal objections to the plan, provided that suitable “mitigations” are implemented.
They maintain that the embassy can be constructed as long as national security remains a top priority.
Both departments are expected to submit formal responses to the proposal in the upcoming days.
Starmer is also likely to visit China next year as Britain seeks to strengthen economic relations with Beijing, despite concerns regarding large-scale espionage activities directed against the UK.
The mega-embassy has already created challenges within the Government.
The dispute revolves around China’s attempt to convert the Royal Mint Court site, located near key communications infrastructure, into the largest embassy in Europe.
This plan has raised alarms across Whitehall, with security officials warning that the site is close to crucial communications cables used by banks and government offices, making it a potential hub for eavesdropping.
China has declined to provide full internal blueprints, citing it as “inappropriate” to disclose every room layout, further intensifying suspicions.
A deadline for the ruling on the embassy's approval has already been postponed twice in just two months.
The latest delay, which occurred this week, has drawn sharp criticism from Beijing.
In a heated statement, Beijing accused the UK of “acting in bad faith and lacking integrity.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian expressed “grave concern and strong dissatisfaction” regarding the delay.
He added that the UK must “immediately fulfill its obligations and honor its commitments; otherwise, the British side will bear all consequences.”
This diplomatic clash arises amid escalating tensions over Chinese espionage, just weeks after prosecutors abruptly dropped a high-profile spy case involving two British men.
Parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash, 30, and academic Christopher Berry, 33, had been accused of spying for Beijing, but the prosecution discontinued the case last month.
Both men denied the allegations.
China Could Construct Sealed ‘Spy Dungeon’ in Mega-Empassy
China may construct a sealed “spy dungeon” in its planned London mega-embassy without the UK ever knowing, Conservative officials have warned.
Beijing is unwilling to clarify the purpose of the greyed-out and redacted areas in the blueprints for the Cultural Exchange Building at Royal Mint Court.
Senior official Kevin Hollinrake claims the request is “pointless” because a planning agreement already permits it to build certain rooms without UK inspection or oversight.
Legal documents indicate that China can apply its own construction standards in areas exempt from verification.
Hollinrake stated: “Ministers have willfully ignored the clear national security threat posed by this mega-embassy.
“Initially, they overlooked secret plans for an underground facility. Now they are effectively giving the Chinese Communist Party a green light to build spy infrastructure or even nefarious detention facilities.
“The Government must reject this planning application, just as Ireland and Australia have done with CCP spy hubs.”
Local Conservative councillor Peter Golds has also raised concerns, questioning why hundreds of pages of planning reports did not mention the secret rooms at all.
He warned that public access to this information is a legal requirement, even for sensitive buildings, and residents are demanding answers.
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and the China Dissent Network
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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