Planning documents for a new China embassy at the historic Royal Mint buildings near the Tower of London have raised significant concerns from the Conservatives about potential use for espionage or intimidation. The Levelling Up Secretary, Kevin Hollinrake, has accused the government of complicity in this project, which includes secretive unlabelled basement rooms. While the embassy plans have faced past objections from British intelligence, the renewed application has coincided with recent diplomatic engagements with China, raising alarms about national security and the implications for UK-China relations.
Levelling Up Secretary Kevin Hollinrake has written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, claiming the government has been caught "red-handed in an attempt to ram this mega-embassy" through the planning system.
Hollinrake warned: "This subterranean zone will undeniably be used for intelligence work by the Chinese Communist Party and its arm, the United Front Work Department."
The Conservatives have accused the government of "appeasement" towards Beijing, warning the so-called "dungeons" could be used for espionage or to intimidate dissidents.
He added: "It would be a barbarous irony that a site so close to the medieval Tower of London could become a modern-day dungeon under a Starmer government."
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