A LABOUR minister has been accused of misleading Parliament over secret plans for China’s mega-embassy in London.
Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake has written to Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook after it emerged key building drawings for the Royal Mint Court site were hidden from view.
Mr Pennycook told Parliament “all inquiry documents for this case are publicly available on Tower Hamlets website”.
But a Government letter sent on August 6 admits some designs are “redacted for security reasons” and asks the Chinese to “consider” handing over the unedited versions.
Mr Hollinrake told him: “This directly contradicts the letter of 6 August…
“You cannot claim that you did not know about the redacted plans.”
Concerns have previously been raised about the plans, including unmarked basement rooms, a tunnel, airlocks and vertical access between buildings.
In his letter, Mr Hollinrake warned this underground zone “will undeniably be used for intelligence work… [and] could be used for the abduction, intimidation or torture of anti-Chinese dissidents living in the United Kingdom .”
Ms Rayner has given the embassy until next week to justify the redactions.
The final decision on the 20,000 sq metre site – which would be China’s largest embassy in Europe – sits with the Deputy PM and is due by September 9.
Human rights groups including Amnesty International and the China Dissent Network have said Chinese embassies have previously been used to monitor, intimidate and silence dissidents abroad.
