Approval shortly before Keir Starmer’s trip to Beijing would come despite widespread concern among Labour MPs
A vast new Chinese embassy complex in east London is almost certain to be formally approved next week despite renewed worries among Labour MPs about potential security risks and the effect on Hong Kong and Uighur exiles in the capital.
The green light for the super-embassy at Royal Mint Court near Tower Bridge would smooth relations before Keir Starmer’s visit to China, which is expected to take place at the end of January, but officials insist there has been no political input in the planning process.
It would be a controversial move, with a series of Labour MPs expressing concern in the Commons on Tuesday over the plans for the complex, which spans 20,000 sq metres.
Answering an urgent question from the shadow Home Office minister, Alicia Kearns, the planning minister, Matthew Pennycook, whose department is responsible for the process, said he could not comment on what was a “quasi-judicial” process.
