LONDON – A top British court on July 31 threw out a challenge against planning permission for a Chinese “mega” embassy in central London, but residents seeking to block the contentious project vowed to fight on.
A campaign group of local residents and businesses had taken their case to the High Court, backed by opposition politicians and Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, asking for the government decision to be re-examined.
They argued the government had not listened to their fears about the impact of the vast new embassy next to the Tower of London, including the heightened risk of a terror attack, of espionage and the harassment of dissidents.
But after a hearing in July, two judges dismissed the claims, saying the housing minister had acted lawfully by granting planning permission in January.
The judgement only considered whether the government had acted lawfully, not the merits of the planning decision.
The Royal Mint Court Residents Association on July 31 said it would apply for permission to appeal, hoping its case will reach the UK Supreme Court.
It said it had relaunched crowdfunding efforts to fund legal costs.
‘Kowtow to China’
“Beijing thinks this judgment is the final word. It isn’t. The appeal is already in the works,” Luke Pollard, head of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said in a statement.
“If they expect us to roll over and allow our own capital to become a CCP power centre, they have completely misjudged the strength of opposition to this mega embassy.”
Former Conservative opposition leader Ian Duncan Smith, who has campaigned against the embassy, said on July 31 he would raise “China policy” with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
He said Beijing had pressured Britain to agree to the construction.
“The price we pay when we kowtow to China is in human lives,” he said at a news conference organised by the claimants.
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Chloe Cheung said the case was “not just about a building” but whether dissidents targeted by the Chinese authorities “can truly feel safe in Britain”.
Beijing bought the site of the historic former Royal Mint, next to the Tower of London, in 2018 for a reported US$327 million (S$420.23 million).
It plans to relocate its embassy there, and then-foreign minister Boris Johnson granted diplomatic consent.
The 235,000sq ft site is set to become the largest embassy complex in Britain by area.
But the plan has been delayed by fierce opposition from nearby residents, rights groups and critics of China’s ruling Communist Party.
In January, the plan was finally granted planning permission under Keir Starmer’s government, shortly before he made a visit to Beijing, despite criticism from opposition politicians, human rights groups and US President Donald Trump.
‘Concealed chamber’
The design for the embassy by David Chipperfield Architects involves restoring and partially demolishing and extending existing the historic buildings on the bank of the Thames.
Britain published planning documents showing the embassy’s projected floor space would exceed 50,000 square metres.
This would make it London’s largest embassy, ahead of the new 12-storey US home around 5.1km to the south-west.
It would also make it the largest Chinese embassy in Western Europe, and likely the largest embassy of any country in the region, by floor space.
The Daily Telegraph said it had obtained unredacted plans that showed Beijing reportedly plans to construct a “concealed chamber” among “secret rooms” underneath the embassy which would be close to sensitive underground communications cables.
July 31’s judgment said that while plans submitted to the British authorities were redacted and not all rooms were identified, there was “no possible ambiguity as to the nature of the intended use of the premises”.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis told MPs “any risks are being appropriately managed”.
He quoted heads of intelligence agencies as saying they had helped to develop a “range of measures” to manage any risks.
Beijing would also consolidate its seven current London sites into one, “bringing clear security advantages”, he said. AFP
