Decision on China mega embassy in London delayed again

A decision on whether to approve China's application for a new super-embassy in London has been delayed again by the government.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed had been due to rule on the application by 21 October, but the deadline has been pushed back to 10 December.

It is the second time the government has delayed a decision on the controversial site, whose location has sparked concerns it could pose an espionage risk.

A ruling had originally been due by 9 September after ministers took control of the process from Tower Hamlets, the local council, last year.

China bought the site of the proposed new embassy, at Royal Mint Court, near the Tower of London, for £255m in 2018. At 20,000 square metres, the proposed complex would be the biggest embassy in Europe if it goes ahead.

The pending decision on whether to approve the new embassy was already under close scrutiny because of concerns about the security implications of the plan, including the location, size and design of the building.

The site is close to fibre optic cables carrying communications to and from financial institutions in the City of London. Concerns have been raised that Chinese operatives could use the site to tap into the cables and eavesdrop.

Further questions have been raised in recent weeks about the nature of the threat posed by Beijing, following the collapse of the case against two men accused of spying for China.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) unexpectedly dropped charges against parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash, 30, and academic Christopher Berry, 33, last month. Both men deny the allegations.

The government's first delay was requested by Reed's predecessor Angela Rayner, after she asked China to explain why some rooms within its planning documents had been blanked out for "security reasons".

Planning consultants working for the Chinese embassy had replied that China "does not consider that, as a matter of principle, it is necessary or appropriate to provide full internal layout plans".

Rayner had written back to groups involved in the consultation, including China, the Met police and a local residents' association, to give them more time to respond to the plans and putting the deadline back to 21 October.

Reed, who took over the housing role following Rayner's resignation last month, has now requested additional time before a final decision needs to be made.

In a letter seen by the BBC, the housing department said more time was needed due to the "detailed nature" of responses received so far.

It added that it was unable to set a new deadline for fresh comments until it receives pending responses from the Foreign Office and Home Office.