Everything we know about China's new 'super embassy'

The government has approved plans for a new Chinese super embassy in London, despite calls from MPs for Sir Keir Starmer to reject it.

The controversial diplomatic base had been opposed for various reasons, including the possibility it would be used as an espionage base, the risk that nearby sensitive financial cabling could be intercepted, and the potential of protests against China being held outside.

However, Sir Keir Starmer's government has given the site, at the old Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London, the green light, paving the way for the largest diplomatic premises in Europe.

Defending its decision, a government spokesperson said intelligence agencies have been involved throughout the process and "an extensive range of measures have been developed to manage any risks".

News of the decision to approve the embassy comes as the UK's relationship with Beijing is under major scrutiny after last year's allegations of spying in parliament - and ahead of Sir Keir visiting Beijing early this year.

Here is everything we know about the 'super embassy' so far.

Where is it - and when was it proposed?

China bought Royal Mint Court for £255m in 2018. It was built over 200 years ago to produce new British coins, but has remained empty since the last gold sovereign was struck there in 1975.

Previously, it had been earmarked for redevelopment as a leisure complex and was home to the Royal Mint between 1809 and 1967.

A planning application to move China's current embassy near Regent's Park to the new site, which sits between the financial districts of the City of London and Canary Wharf, was rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022.

It was resubmitted in July 2024, two weeks after Labour won the general election, with Chinese President Xi Jinping asking Sir Keir to intervene personally.

In August that year, the application was "called in" by then-housing secretary Angela Rayner, meaning central government took oversight of it from the local council. Building plans were also submitted.

Ms Rayner announced in August that she was delaying approval of the application over part of the building plans being redacted - something anti-China activists suggest could be a tactic to hide facilities for detaining opponents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

China claims it has "followed the customary diplomatic practices, as well as necessary protocol and procedures" and that the new embassy was being proposed in the spirit of "promoting understanding and friendship".

New Housing Secretary Steve Reed then extended the deadline once more, announcing on 21 October that ministers needed more time to discuss the matter and a decision would come on or before 20 January 2026.

Just before that deadline, it was revealed the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was relying on a secret note, called a note verbale (a type of routine diplomatic communication), sent during Boris Johnson's time as foreign secretary in 2018, to argue Royal Mint Court would only be designated as diplomatic premises if planning permission were secured.

The document has not been published or disclosed to interested parties, such as Royal Mint Court residents and activist groups.

However, an official letter sent by Mr Johnson on the same day made no mention of planning permission, which campaigners say means they are being asked to accept the planning process is legitimate on the basis of a condition they have never seen.

What are the security concerns?

Secret basement and delicate cables

Labour MPs had asked Sir Keir to reject the planning application after a secret basement and nearby financially delicate cables were uncovered.

The plans, which China has refused to remove redactions from, revealed a 208-room underground complex beneath the embassy.

Uncovered by the Telegraph, one of the secret basements runs directly alongside cables transmitting key financial data between the capital's two financial centres, Canary Wharf and the City of London.

The underground chamber also contains hot air extraction systems, which critics have suggested could mean the installation of heat-generating equipment such as computers that could be used for espionage.

Labour backbenchers attacked the proposal during an urgent question on 13 January 2026.

One of those was Sarah Champion, who sits on the influential national security strategy committee. She called for Sir Keir to limit Chinese activity in Britain and "stand up to bullies" on the world stage.

Ms Champion said: "Multiple government agencies and government departments have raised concerns about the mega-embassy. Our international partners have raised concerns about it.

"Every security briefing I have had identifies China as a hostile state to the UK. I am in no doubt that this mega-embassy should not be allowed to go ahead."

Greyed-out areas with no clear use

There have been large-scale protests against the embassy and outrage when China refused to explain why large parts of the plans were greyed out.

A public inquiry was held in front of the government's Planning Inspectorate in February 2025 and the findings were presented to Ms Rayner to make a final decision.

She demanded an explanation about rooms in the basement of the building that were "greyed out" in the application.

Hong Kongers exiled in the UK over Chinese allegations of national security crimes have expressed fears that such rooms might be used to detain dissidents.

One, Carmen Lau, told Sky's Henry Vaughan she believes the embassy would become a "hub of transnational repression" and said she is scared of being held there after a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester was forcibly taken inside the Chinese consulate in Manchester in 2022.

In a letter sent to Ms Lau's neighbours, Hong Kong Police said a HK$1m bounty was on offer to anyone who could provide information or "take her to Chinese embassy".

In evidence to the Planning Inspectorate inquiry, Simon Cheng, founder of Hongkongers in Britain, said: "China has been accused of operating illegal 'overseas police stations' to silence political opponents and even force them back to China."

He claimed that "approving this embassy risks legitimising and enabling such activities on British soil".

And during a debate on the plans in parliament, Liberal Democrat MP Ben Maguire claimed the embassy plans could "seriously increase China's capacity for surveillance, intimidation and transnational repression against Hong Kong activists here in London".

The Chinese embassy in London responded to Ms Rayner's letter in August, expressing "serious concern" over the delay in approving its plans and saying foreign countries have an "international obligation" to support the construction of diplomatic premises.

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Beijing officials also claimed that the "internal functional layout for embassy projects is different" from other projects, pointing out that plans for the new US-UK embassy at Nine Elms did not include internal layouts.

DP9, the planning consultancy commissioned by the Chinese government, said it would be "inappropriate" to submit complete floor plans.

Access to Cistercian abbey

The government previously expressed concerns about another part of the embassy site China proposes to keep open - for the public to visit the ruins of a Cistercian abbey and a Chinese cultural centre.

The Home and Foreign Offices said the area posed a "specific public order and national security risks" because, although members of the public would be allowed in, police and the emergency services would not be due to its "diplomatic inviolability".

China claimed it would allow first responders onto the site if anyone got into difficulty, as a planning condition, but critics remain sceptical.

Residents vow to appeal

Residents living close to the site have vowed to continue to challenge the Government's approval of the plans.

They have previously aired concerns that their new landlords will eventually force them out of their homes.

Other people living nearby fear the security risk of regular anti-China protests at the site, with two taking place earlier this year.

What have UK security services said?

In a joint letter on 20 January to the home secretary and foreign secretary, MI5 director general Sir Ken McCallum and GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler warned that national security risks linked to China's new London embassy cannot be wholly eliminated.

However, the pair state that the collective work across UK intelligence agencies and HMG departments to formulate a "package of national security mitigations for the site has been, in our view, expert, professional and proportionate".

They add that the new embassy will replace "seven different diplomatically-accredited sites across London which China currently operates", which they said brings "clear security advantages".

What has China said?

China maintains the new embassy is being built to "promote understanding and friendship" with the UK and "develop mutually beneficial cooperation".

In September, a Chinese embassy spokesperson told Sky News that claims the new embassy poses a potential security risk to the UK are "completely groundless and malicious slander, and we firmly oppose it".

They added: "Anti-China forces are using security risks as an excuse to interfere with the British government's consideration over this planning application. This is a despicable move that is unpopular and will not succeed."

The Chinese embassy in London said in its August statement that planning applications and all necessary protocol have been followed.

The statement said: "The Chinese side urges the UK side to fulfil its obligation and approve the planning application without delay.

"The planning and design of the new Chinese Embassy project is of high quality, which has been well recognised by various professional bodies.

"The planning application has followed the customary diplomatic practices, as well as necessary protocol and procedures. 

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"In our reply to [the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government], we have provided a comprehensive response to the questions concerning the planning application.

"It is an international obligation of the host country to provide support and facilitation for the construction of diplomatic premises. Both China and the UK plan to build new embassies in each other's capitals."

China has so far refused permission for a new UK embassy in Beijing.

(c) Sky News 2026: Everything we know about China's new 'super embassy'