Angela Rayner gave the embassy two weeks to send additional details about its plans before approval decision
Ministers have asked China to send them the unredacted designs for its proposed “super-embassy” in London or justify why some of the drawings have been blacked out.
In a letter on Wednesday Angela Rayner, the housing secretary and deputy prime minister, gave the Chinese embassy two weeks to send additional details about its plans before a crunch decision over whether to approve them.
The government must deliver a verdict on the proposed super-embassy, which would occupy a sprawling 20,000 sq metres at Royal Mint Court in east London, by 9 September. If approved it would be the biggest embassy in Europe.
The controversial plan has met fierce opposition from local residents and campaigners concerned about Beijing’s human rights record in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. Several large protests have taken place outside the site in recent months.
