Torture, spies and fibre cables: The security concerns over China’s new embassy
The UK has given approval for a major new Chinese embassy in London; This decision was taken despite important warnings from intelligence agencies regarding national security.
MI5 acknowledged the inherent difficulties, stating that “it is unrealistic to expect to completely eliminate every single potential risk” and that “the mitigation package acceptably addresses a wide range of sensitive national security issues”.
Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) agreed that national security concerns could be “satisfactorily mitigated” but stressed that Beijing was targeting the UK “productively and aggressively”.
Here are some of the concerns raised and how the government is responding.
cables
The site of China’s proposed mega embassy is the former Royal Mint near the Tower of London, which is close to fibre-optic cables that transmit sensitive financial data to the City of London.
This has led to warnings that Beijing may try to spy on information passing through the network.
According to the plans, there are 208 secret rooms and a secret room that will be located right next to critical internet cables. Telegram.
The newspaper reported that the room would include hot air extraction systems, advanced computers suggested it could potentially be used for espionage, and proposals included demolishing and rebuilding a wall between data cables.
Opposition politicians, campaigners and even Labor MPs were alarmed; Conservative Party shadow minister Alicia Kearns warned the embassy would provide China with a “launching pad for economic warfare” against the UK.
Sarah Champion, Labor chair of the International Development Committee, whose parliamentary computer was the target of Chinese spyware, said this week that the US had confirmed three major infrastructure hacks in the past 18 months, while the UK faced hacks against the Electoral Commission, the Foreign Office and parliamentarians.
Briefing MPs about the decision on Tuesday, Security Minister Dan Jarvis said: “A wide range of measures have been developed to protect national security.
“We have taken action to improve the resilience of cables in the region with a comprehensive set of measures to protect sensitive data.”
In a letter to the home secretary and foreign secretary, MI5 and GCHQ said the package of security reductions formulated by intelligence agencies and government departments, which will be reviewed regularly, “acceptably addresses a wide range of sensitive national security issues, including cabling”.
MI5 director general Sir Ken McCallum and GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler also wrote: “MI5 has over 100 years of experience in managing national security risks associated with foreign diplomatic facilities in London.
“For the Royal Mint Court site, as for any foreign embassy on UK soil, it is unrealistic to expect to be able to completely eliminate every single potential risk.”
spies
Opponents warn that the expected 200-person Chinese national workforce could include unnamed officers from the Ministry of State Security and Military Intelligence.
Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel accused Sir Keir Starmer of “giving Xi Jinping what he wants – setting up a massive spy center in the heart of our capital”, while Luke de Pulford, chairman of the China Inter-Parliamentary Alliance, argued that more government workers equaled more Chinese interference.
But Mr Jarvis argued that replacing the seven separate areas that make up China’s current diplomatic footprint in London with a single area would “bring security advantages”.
With all Chinese diplomats scheduled to live in the building, UK security services will be able to monitor their activities more easily.
“Following an in-depth review by security officials, the government has been able to conclude that we can manage the security concerns regarding the embassy,” Jarvis told MPs. he said.
Oppression
There are concerns that the new embassy could increase China’s ability to apply transnational pressure against political opponents on UK soil.
Pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong, who fled to England after Beijing cracked down on dissidents, expressed fears that construction may be at risk.
Chloe Cheung, 20, said Hong Kong authorities had placed a bounty of one million Hong Kong dollars (more than £95,760) on her head in 2024 for her work with the Hong Kong Freedom Committee Foundation.
He said it might be easier to “facilitate any kind of surveillance” if the embassy was approved and that he would be concerned for his safety.
The concerns are not without precedent; A pro-democracy protester from Hong Kong was dragged into the Chinese consulate building in Manchester in 2022 and beaten, but was rescued by British police crossing the border.
Mr Jarvis said the government had agreed with Beijing that the public forecourt on the new embassy grounds “will not have diplomatic immunity”, allowing inspections of the area and preventing people from being dragged off the street.
The minister also said it was “absolutely unacceptable for China or anyone else to persecute people in this country” and said he had reaffirmed to Chinese officials that “the application of Hong Kong’s national security law outside the territory is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the UK.”
Torture
Opponents also expressed concerns about being held in the new mega-embassy and what might happen to them in rooms whose use is not specified in public plans.
Amid claims that the rooms could be used for torture, Downing Street said ministers had seen unedited plans of the site and were satisfied that any risks around the secret rooms had been “appropriately managed”.
They are aware of what the rooms will be used for and it appears that there are measures in place to ensure this does not constitute torture.
local residents
Residents living close to the site have vowed to continue to challenge the government’s approval of the plans, citing privacy concerns and the safety risk to them.
They say this includes possible attacks on the embassy and large demonstrations that have already been held there.
In its decision letter, the government noted that “there is no evidence of a specific terrorist threat” to the region and that large-scale protests “can be safely contained.”
