China's plan for 'mega' embassy in London faces further delay

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LONDON (AP) — A long-delayed decision on controversial plans for a super-sized Chinese embassy in central London has been pushed back again, authorities said Monday, following mounting security concerns.

The plans for the “mega embassy" on a huge site close to London’s financial district and sensitive data cables have been stalled for years. Critics have raised concerns that the building will be used as a base for espionage, and lawmakers from across the political spectrum have urged the government to reject the proposal.

Officials were due to make a decision on the embassy by Dec. 10, but the Planning Inspectorate said the deadline has been postponed to Jan. 20 to allow more time to fully consider it.

“The Home Office and Foreign Office have provided views on particular security implications, and have been clear throughout that a decision shouldn’t be taken until we affirm that those considerations have been completed or resolved," Tom Wells, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters.

The delay follows growing scrutiny on the British government in recent weeks over its handling of multiple allegations of Chinese spying.

Starmer's government has denied accusations that it had interfered in the trial of two alleged Chinese spies in order to preserve ties with the Asian superpower.

Former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash and academic Christopher Berry were charged last year with spying for Beijing, but prosecutors dropped the charges at the last minute, blaming officials for refusing to testify that China was a threat to national security at the time of the alleged offenses, between 2021 and 2023.

Critics have also suggested that the decision on the Chinese embassy was delayed amid preparations for Starmer's expected visit to Beijing early next year.

If approved, the proposed embassy at Royal Mint Court — the former site of the U.K.’s coin maker, near the Tower of London — will be the largest embassy in Europe, covering 20,000 square meters.

China has previously accused the U.K. of “constantly complicating and politicizing the matter.”