Newly uncovered plans for a hugely controversial new Chinese embassy in London show a secret basement that doesn’t appear in versions previously made public.
A fresh diplomatic row for the government is threatening to explode in the next week, with Keir Starmer reportedly preparing to give Beijing’s proposals the green light.
Such a move would already spark a significant backlash, due to widespread security concerns over the site near top financial centres at the City of London.
But the Telegraph has published unredacted plans for the new building – converted from the old Royal Mint – which raise further questions.
They include a concealed chamber which runs along the outer wall of a room in the north-west of the building.
It would be placed close to fibre optic cables transmitting email and messaging data for millions of people, as well as financial data heading towards the City.
The chamber is one of dozens of rooms that were blacked out in plans initially released publicly.
However, the Times has reported that Keir Starmer will give his backing for the project to go ahead before leaving for a trip to Beijing this month.
The Prime Minister will become the first British leader to visit China for eight years, and is expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during the trip.
MI5 and MI6 have reportedly raised no formal objections to the new embassy, which would be China’s largest in Europe at 22,000 square metres.
But Boris Johnson’s former advisor Dominic Cummings previously claimed the security services had warned him the Chinese were ‘trying to build a spy centre underneath’ it.
The ultimate decision on whether to give the plans a thumbs-up was delayed by both the former Housing Secretary Angela Rayner and the current one, Steve Reed.
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Rayner pushed back her final say after asking China to explain why so much of the plan for the site was censored for ‘security reasons’.
This dialogue continued with the government asking for more communication each time until as recently as January 6, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook told MPs today.
He confirmed a final decision would now be made on or before January 20.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have each raised concerns about the plans, with Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman Callum Miller saying it would be ‘insane’ to move forward with them.
Tory MP Alicia Kearns said in the House of Commons today the site would provide ‘access that would give the Chinese Communist Party a launchpad for economic warfare against our nation’.
Pennycook told MPs no decision had been taken on the case, and details of correspondence between the government and applicant would be included once it had.
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