Labour Ministers have come under fire for allegedly orchestrating a ‘shameful’ scheme to delay the approval of a new Chinese ‘super embassy’ in London until after Donald Trump’s state visit.
Accusations surfaced that, to prevent the US president from commenting on the controversial project during his UK stay, a final decision was intentionally deferred until weeks after his departure.
Additionally, there were claims that the Labour government was so eager to greenlight the embassy plan that they may have obscured its potential future function as a Chinese ‘spy hub’.
This allegedly involved misleading Parliament and Ministers being complicit in withholding crucial details regarding the plan’s potential to include sinister ‘spy dungeons’.
Today, the Government dismissed the allegations of any such cover-up as ‘completely inaccurate’.
But former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the Mail on Sunday: ‘Their whole behaviour over this embassy has been shameful.
‘It’s been a planning process that is being delivered on bended knee.
‘And the Americans don’t like it one little bit.
‘So they have pushed the decision back to get it past the Trump visit.’
Labour Ministers have come under fire for allegedly orchestrating a ‘shameful’ scheme to delay the approval of a new Chinese ‘super embassy’ in London until after Donald Trump’s state visit.
Last night, the Government rejected these cover-up claims as ‘completely inaccurate,’ but former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith stated to the Mail on Sunday: ‘Their entire conduct regarding this embassy has been shameful’.
Pictured: Royal Mint Court, the site of the proposed new Chinese Embassy in London. There have also been suggestions that so desperate was the Labour government to agree to the embassy plan that they had covered up its potential use as a future Chinese ‘spy hub’
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is also in charge of planning, had been due to make a decision by September 9 on the new embassy on the site of the former Royal Mint buildings in the heart of the City of London.
But just over a week ago, her department sprang a surprise by revealing that that the deadline been put back to October 21 – a month after President Trump’s visit scheduled for September 17-19.
Officials cited the need for more time ‘for full consideration’ of the plans, which is thought to refer to a continuing lack of detail on what some rooms in the huge embassy would actually be used for.
In April, this paper revealed concerns that they could be ‘spy dungeons’ for Beijing’s intelligence services.
And today, the Tories claimed that the Government had been aware of the potential use for months and accused Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook of misleading the Commons over the issue.
Tory party chairman Kevin Hollinrake pointed to Commons’ answers in which Mr Pennycook had insisted that all documents relating to a planning inquiry into the application were ‘publicly available’.
In a letter challenging Mr Pennycook to correct the record, Mr Hollinrake said the Minister had repeatedly given a ‘misleading public impression’ that there was no hidden material about the embassy’s use being withheld.
And he cited the damning privileges report which led to Boris Johnson’s resignation as an MP in 2023 which said that ‘misleading intentionally or recklessly……. impedes or frustrates the functioning of the House and is a contempt’.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is also in charge of planning, had been due to make a decision by September 9 on the new embassy on the site of the former Royal Mint buildings in the heart of the City of London
Pictured: plans for the controversial embassy. In April, this paper revealed concerns that they could be ‘spy dungeons’ for Beijing’s intelligence services. Today, the Tories claimed that the Government had been aware of the potential use for months
Tory party chairman Kevin Hollinrake (pictured) pointed to Commons’ answers in which Mr Pennycook had insisted that all documents relating to a planning inquiry into the application were ‘publicly available’. He said: ‘It is obvious that this Embassy will be used as a spy hub’
Pictured: protestors gather during a demonstration against the new Chinese ‘super embassy’ on March 15. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) dismissed Mr Hollinrake’s claims as ‘completely inaccurate’
Mr Hollinrake said: ‘It is obvious that this Embassy will be used as a spy hub.
‘Vital information on its sinister use has been hidden by Chinese Government, and Labour Ministers have been complicit in this cover-up.
‘National security is under threat, which is why the planning permission should be refused.’
But the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) dismissed Mr Hollinrake’s claims as ‘completely inaccurate’ and said ‘there is no record to correct.
‘As the Minister has clearly said, all documents submitted to the inquiry are publicly available.’
In a statement last weekend, the Chinese Embassy insisted it had provided ‘a comprehensive response’ to the MCHLG’s request for more information on the plans and expressed ‘our serious concern’ that a final decision had now been delayed.
A spokesman added: ‘Both China and the UK plan to build new embassies in each other’s capitals.
‘The Chinese side urges the UK side to fulfil its obligation and approve the planning application without delay.’
