Britain's government gave approval or China to build its largest embassy in Europe in London, hoping to improve ties with Beijing. This is despite British and U.S. politicians' warnings that it could be used as a base for spying.

London

The United Kingdom has granted approval for China to construct a new embassy in London, which will become Beijing's largest diplomatic outpost in Europe. The decision follows years of opposition, protests, and warnings from UK and US politicians about potential espionage and data security risks due to the embassy's proximity to sensitive fiber-optic cables.

British officials stated that measures have been taken to mitigate any security threats, and the government had reviewed all embassy plans in detail. The move comes ahead of a planned visit to China by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and has prompted legal challenges from local residents and dissidents, as well as criticism from the opposition Conservative Party.

UK approves China plan for mega embassy in London despite spy fears

Britain has approved a plan by China to build a new embassy in London that would be Beijing's largest in Europe, after recent demonstrations against its opening as well as years of opposition. The approval comes despite warnings from both UK and US politicians saying it could be used as a base for spying, and that it might enable Beijing to eavesdrop on fiber-optic cables used by finance firms running underneath the area. In Parliament Tuesday, Britain's Security Minister Dan Jarvis acknowledged China was a risk to national security, but downplayed danger from the new embassy. We have acted to increase the resilience of cables in the area through an extensive series of measures to protect sensitive data. And I can confirm that contrary to reporting, the government had seen the unredacted plans for the embassy. Based on all of this and our extensive work on this matter, I am content that any risks are being appropriately managed. In the past decade, the UK has gone from saying it wanted to be China's biggest supporter in Europe to being one of its fiercest critics, to now trying to reset relations again. Approving the new embassy came before an expected visit to China by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer this month. Some British and Chinese officials said that trip was dependent on the embassy being approved. It is set to be one of the largest diplomatic outposts in the world, with the planning application showing a footprint of about 600,000 square feet near the Tower of London. The plans had stalled for three years over opposition from lawmakers, Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners and some living close by. Shortly after the approval was announced, exiled Hong Kong and Chinese dissidents spoke out. This site will accommodate hundreds more Chinese state employees. We know what that means. More interference, more influence operations and more intimidation of people like me. They were speaking alongside residents who promised a legal challenge. This has been a long David and Goliath fight. There is now only one way of stopping this, a judicial review. So I am today announcing that our judicial review to challenge the UK government's embassy decision begins today. However, former UK diplomat and analyst Charles Parton said the building is unlikely to be part of a spying plan. An embassy is a center of attention. It's easy to keep an eye on people there. The Chinese don't spy for embassies. They spy, they recruit and they run agents, usually in third countries, well away from the security services of the target country. On Tuesday, the head of MI5 and intelligence communications agency GCHQ issued a joint letter saying while it was unrealistic to eliminate every potential risk posed by the embassy officials, the government had devised a range of protective measures. Britain's opposition Conservative Party described Tuesday's decision as a disgraceful act of cowardice from a government utterly devoid of backbone. The Chinese embassy in London said in a one-line statement that it noted the government's decision.

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Breakdown