New date to approve site near Tower Bridge in London aligns with Keir Starmer’s planned visit to Beijing
The government has delayed its decision on whether to approve China’s super-embassy in London until January, when Keir Starmer is expected to visit Beijing.
Ministers are expected to greenlight the controversial plans after formal submissions by the Home Office and Foreign Office raised no objections on security grounds.
The Guardian reported last month that the security services had signalled to ministers that they could handle the security risks of the embassy, which would be China’s biggest diplomatic outpost in the world. A government spokesperson said on Tuesday that consolidating China’s seven existing diplomatic sites in London into a single embassy “clearly brings security advantages”.
The Chinese government has agreed to combine all its diplomatic premises in London into the Royal Mint Court site, which spans 20,000 sq metres near Tower Bridge in London.
