A new Chinese ‘super embassy’ in London will have on-site accommodation for more than 200 intelligence officers, diplomatic sources have warned.
The revelations about the ‘spy campus’ are likely to increase concerns about the development on the site of the Royal Mint buildings near the Tower of London, which has been revived by No10 despite being blocked by the previous government after warnings from MI5 and Scotland Yard.
The Bank of England has also warned Downing Street about the risks of allowing it to be built close to sensitive financial centres.
Mapping data shows the proposed site lies directly between financial hubs in the City and Canary Wharf and close to three major data centres, including the Stock Exchange.
Earlier this year, The Mail on Sunday revealed that planning documents for the embassy included ‘spy dungeons’ – two suites of basement rooms and a tunnel, with their purpose redacted for security reasons.
A source said: ‘There will effectively be a student-style campus for spies in the heart of the City.
‘And those spy dungeons are so deep that the sensitive cables are virtually at head height.’
The MoS can also reveal that the embassy plans exempt a ‘cultural exchange’ section from ‘inspection and verification’ by UK authorities.
A new Chinese ‘super embassy’ in London will have on-site accommodation for more than 200 intelligence officers, diplomatic sources have warned
Ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith (pictured) has warned of the dangers of the embassy and said: ‘It’s simple: a bigger embassy has more spies and more repression.’
Shadow Levelling Up Secretary Kevin Hollinrake accused Sir Keir Starmer of attempting to ‘woo the Chinese Communist Party to bail out their failing economic policies’ (Sir Keir pictured with President Xi Jinping)
A US security source said ‘cultural interests/exchange’ is a ‘euphemism for intelligence and security services’, adding: ‘It’s where they often stuff their security and intelligence staff, among other diplomats. And if it’s a “cultural” centre/space, why do they always declare it off limits in planning documents?’
Ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘Everywhere there is a mega embassy… Chinese state-sponsored, trans-national repression of those who have fled the Chinese state or who criticise it grows dramatically.
‘It’s simple: a bigger embassy has more spies and more repression.’
Shadow Levelling Up Secretary Kevin Hollinrake said Labour had been ‘caught red-handed trying to ram through this sinister embassy’ in a ‘desperate attempt to woo the Chinese Communist Party to bail out their failing economic policies’.
He added: ‘It is shocking Labour want to sign a legal document that will ban British officials checking what is being built in the embassy building. This is yet another surrender document from a Labour Government that puts foreign interests over British interests.’
‘The so-called cultural exchange will clearly be used by Chinese spies and communist bullies to further their political ends.’
China has dismissed claims the embassy could be an espionage hub.
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