China today threatened Britain with ‘consequences’ after Labour ministers delayed approval of its planned new ‘super-embassy’ in London.
Beijing wants to create a huge diplomatic headquarters on an historic site near the City of London, despite opposition from campaigners and local residents.
A decision on whether the Government would give the go-ahead for the development had been due next week.
But Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Steve Reed has now pushed back the deadline on whether to grant planning approval until 10 December.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian expressed ‘grave concern and strong dissatisfaction’ about the delay in a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.
In comments reported by Bloomberg, the spokesman said China had displayed ‘the utmost sincerity and patience’ in talks about the embassy.
But Britain had shown ‘disregard for contractual spirit, acting in bad faith and without integrity’, he continued.
The UK should ‘immediately fulfill its obligations and honor its commitments,’ the spokesman said, adding: ‘Otherwise the British side shall bear all consequences’.
It came after Dominic Cummings, a former senior Downing Street aide, issued a fresh warning that China was planning to use the new embassy as a ‘spy centre’.
Downing Street rejected Beijing’s suggestion that ‘commitments’ had been made by the Government over the new embassy.
A No10 spokesman said: ‘I don’t recognise any claims of commitments or assurances.
‘In terms of the planning process here, this is a decision that is independent of the rest of Government.
‘It’s a quasi-judicial decision and it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on the cases before MHCLG [The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government] ministers.’
The spokesman declined to comment on China’s reference to ‘consequences’, but added: ‘The Government has clearly set out its position on China.’
Mr Cummings said, while working as a chief adviser in No10 between 2019 and 2020, he had been warned about China’s proposed new embassy by UK security services.
The planned embassy site is close to fibre optic cables carrying communications to and from financial institutions in the City of London.
Concerns have been raised that China could tap into the cables and eavesdrop on key information.
Mr Cummings told ITV’s Talking Politics podcast: ‘So MI5 and MI6 said to me explicitly: China is trying to build a spy centre underneath the embassy.
‘It’s extremely bad idea to allow this to go ahead. It’s particularly a bad idea given the exact location and various cables which run underneath London.’
Pressure has grown on the Government to reject Beijing’s plans for a new London embassy amid fresh scrutiny of the UK’s relationship with China.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing an ongoing row over the collapse of the trial of Christopher Cash, 30, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, 33, a teacher.
The two men were accused of spying for China and were charged last year under the Official Secrets Act. They both denied the charges.
The case was dropped after the Government failed to provide evidence that would support the assertion that China represented a threat to national security.
Luke de Pulford, of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said: ‘We know the UK is under heavy diplomatic pressure from China to green-light the embassy application.
‘It is very difficult to believe that this delay has not been caused by the current spy scandal, making it impossible to approve the application without seeming unacceptably weak on China.’
Drawings of the Chinese ‘super-embassy’ site originally submitted as part of the planning process contained blacked-out areas.
This fuelled suspicions from critics that Beijing intends to use the site as a base for espionage activities.
Sir James Cleverly, the Tory shadow housing secretary, said: ‘It is essential the planning review has access to the full unredacted drawings for the Chinese embassy, and that the UK security agencies are able to submit evidence in private, using established processes.
‘The Government has actively sought to silence the warnings about the threats to national security from the mega-embassy.
‘If Keir Starmer had any backbone, he would ensure his Government threw out this sinister application – as Ireland and Australia did when faced with similar embassy development proposals from Russia.’
Calum Miller, the Liberal Democrats’ foreign affairs spokesperson, said: ‘This week we have seen the extent of China’s espionage efforts laid bare.
‘But instead of blocking the monster embassy for good, the Government is kicking the can down the road in the hope no one will notice if it approves it at a later stage.
‘It’s beyond time this embassy proposal was put out of its misery – and that the Government send a signal to China that we will no longer roll over in the face of their industrial espionage.’
In a letter to DP9, the planning consultancy working for the Chinese government, Mr Reed’s department on Thursday said he needed more time ‘for full consideration of the applications’.
‘The Secretary of State hereby gives notice that he has varied the timetable for the decision which was previously set, and a decision will now be issued on or before 10 December 2025,’ the letter added.
China bought the former home of the Royal Mint, near the Tower of London, for £255million in 2018.
It purchased the historic site with the aim of moving its embassy eastwards across London from its current Marylebone location.
But Beijing’s plans for a ‘super embassy’ were left in disarray after its proposed redevelopment of Royal Mint Court was rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022.
It had been thought China had subsequently scrapped the plans but – following Labour’s general election victory last year – a planning application was resubmitted.
Sir Keir later revealed that ministers took over decision-making for the proposed embassy after the Chinese President raised it with him.
The Prime Minister said the Government had ‘called in’ China’s planning application after a phone call with Xi Jinping.
Mr Reed on Tuesday insisted national security concerns will be ‘paramount’ in the embassy decision.
He said he expected to see full, unredacted plans for the proposed site before making his decision.
Sir Keir’s official spokesman told reporters on Thursday: ‘Given the detailed nature of the representations that have been provided, and the need to give parties sufficient opportunity to respond, MHCLG consider that more time is needed for full consideration of the applications.
‘You are aware that this is a quasi-judicial decision, independent from the rest of Government. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment further when the case is before MHCLG ministers.’
The new December 10 deadline date for a decision is ‘not legally binding’, the spokesman added, suggesting the timeline could slip again in future.
Ministers have blamed the collapse of the spying case involving Mr Cash and Mr Berry last month on the previous Tory administration for failing to officially designate China as a threat while in office.
But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has suggested Labour took ‘a deliberate decision to collapse the case’ in order to ‘curry favour’ with Beijing.
Newly-released statements provided by deputy national security adviser Matt Collins, as part of the Crown Prosecution Service’s case, have prompted fresh questions about why it collapsed.
They showed the Government’s evidence warned of Beijing’s large-scale espionage but stressed the desire to seek a positive relationship with the economic superpower.
MPs are meanwhile due to hold an inquiry into the case.
