East London residents living in the shadow of the planned Chinese “super embassy” have threatened legal action against the UK Government if the development gets the go ahead.
The Government is expected to approve China’s bid to create Europe’s biggest embassy at the former Royal Mint building in January.
But people living next door to the site have warned Labour ministers they are prepared to go to court to try to stop the highly controversial plan.
Mark Nygate, a Royal Mint Court estate resident for almost 30 years, lives just eight metres from the planned embassy’s wooden fence boundary. He calls it the “little wall of China”.
If Beijing gets the green light to transform the 20,000-acre site near the Tower of London, then Nygate’s one-bedroom flat will face directly onto embassy staff residences.
He and other locals worry that it will leave them vulnerable to potential surveillance and disruption from protests. The embassy building could even be a target for terrorism, they fear.
“It’s not about being anti-China,” the 64-year-old told The i Paper. “It’s nothing against Chinese people in the UK, I love Chinese culture. But what the Chinese Government wants to do here is not on.”
The planned Chinese embassy building, on the left, overlooks the Royal Mint Court housing estate, on the right (Photo: Google Street View)Location is ‘real problem’, Labour warned
Tower Hamlets Council rejected the scheme in 2022, citing “resident and tourist safety, heritage, police resources and highway safety” concerns.
However, China resubmitted its proposal after Labour’s 2024 general election victory. The Government then called in the plans, deeming them to be of national importance, following personal lobbying from President Xi Jinping.
Starmer raised eyebrows by mentioning the embassy at a press conference with Xi last year, telling him his Government had “taken action by calling in that application”.
Ministers have reportedly received advice from UK intelligence agencies that clears the way for approval. A decision, delayed several times, is expected to be announced by 20 January.
China’s planned embassy at Royal Mint Court, with 100 households living just north of the boundary (Photos: Chinese Embassy UK / David Chipperfield Architects / DP9 / Tower Hamlets Council)Approval will defy the China hawks and security experts who fear that the so-called “super embassy” could act as a hub for intelligence gathering and espionage.
Sir Richard Dearlove, the former chief of Britain’s MI6, has urged the Government to reject the plan – pointing to vital fibre optic cables needed by the City of London running close to the site.
Dearlove said in June that the location presents a “real problem”, since Chinese officials could, in theory, tap into sensitive communication lines “with impunity”.
CCTV, terrorism and expansion fears
For residents, security and privacy fears are more personal. Nygate, who is treasurer of the Royal Mint Court Resident Association (RMCRA), said the “vast majority” of residents are against the embassy.
Around 100 flats, a mix of leasehold and shared ownership apartments, face the prospect of living up against the most contentious building in the country.
“We’re very worried about security,” said Nygate. On the potential for constant CCTV surveillance, he added: “Unfortunately, it would make sense for them [Chinese officials] to monitor what is going on around the embassy.”
Only a few metres separate the embassy building, seen here on the left, from the housing estate where resident Dave Lake lives, on the right (Photo: Rob Hastings)Dave Lake, 70, has lived in his Royal Mint Court flat for 35 years. He previously told The i Paper that he was worried about the potential for terrorists to target the complex.
“Blowing something up in the vicinity of the Tower of London will create more of a headline for them,” said Lake, chairman of the resident’s association.
Residents fear that Chinese officials may come to realise the vulnerability of the building. The flats are separated from the planned embassy residences by only a small wooden fence.
Nygate said it was “mind-boggling” that the Chinese Government had bought the freehold on the land under the housing estate in 2018.
He fears it would make it easier for Beijing to force them out if it wanted to expand the complex.
Senior Conservative Sir Iain Duncan Smith previously said residents were right to be worried, arguing that they could be “bullied by the Chinese to get out”.
The leading China hawk, who fears embassy approval is imminent, claims that No 10 will be “kissing up to China” in a desperate bid for economic investment.
Ministers warned of ‘outcry’ and legal action
The RMCRA says it has crowdfunded more than £40,000 for legal action so far. The residents’ group is preparing to use any money it has to launch a judicial review case, if the embassy is approved in the coming weeks.
Keir Starmer met China’s President Xi Jinping at the G20 in Brazil in November 2024 (Photo: Stefan Rousseau/Getty)“We will be angry and disappointed if they do [approve the embassy],” said Nygate. “We intend to challenge the decision, if it is approved, at a judicial review. That’s what we’re preparing for.
“We will have to see what the Government has based its decision on,” Nygate said. “We still believe the plan is unlawful, and we fear the Government may not have looked at the evidence properly.”
He added: “The Government needs to be brave. Despite how long it’s dragged on for, they still have time to make the right decision.”
Peter Golds, a Conservative councillor in Tower Hamlets, warned Labour of “local, regional, national and international outcry” if the embassy gets the go-ahead. He is also “certain” that there will be a judicial review.
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A Chinese embassy spokesperson said the plan was “high quality” and complies with “diplomatic practice and local regulations and procedures”.
They also recently said “we strongly deplore the UK side’s repeated postponement of the decision”. They urged speedy approval to avoid undermining “trust and cooperation”.
The Chinese embassy previously described claims of espionage in the UK as a “smear” by those with a “twisted mentality towards China”.
The UK Government declined to comment.
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