China’s proposed “super embassy poses a super risk”, the Tories have claimed as they warned the project risks compromising communications infrastructure serving the City of London.
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00:00This behind me is the site of China's proposed mega embassy, which is of course Royal Mint Court, the former headquarters of the UK's coin maker, opposite the Tower of London and right in between the two financial hearts of the city.
00:18China bought this site in 2018, but Tower Hamlet's council refused planning permission for what would be the largest embassy in Europe in 2022.
00:29A number of reasons were cited for that decision. One of them would be the impact of large protests in the area.
00:37And it's now the government to say if this project will go ahead. But the White House has warned Downing Street against allowing the project to go forward.
00:50A senior US official recently told the Sunday Times that the United States was deeply concerned about providing China with potential access to the sensitive communications of one of their closest allies.
01:08This particular issue is believed to have been discussed during US-UK trade talks, with diplomats saying the Trump administration would have reservations about intelligence sharing with the UK if the building went ahead.
01:27While the Shadow Secretary, Chris Billet, said the embassy was likely to become a base for spying activity and insisted permission should not be given for its development.