Chinese Embassy

Sarah Champion Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Pennycook]

I thank the shadow Minister for her questions. I am obviously not going to comment on speculation in the press. On the specific case before Ministers, at the application stage it was a matter for parties what information was put forward for consideration, and it was a matter for Tower Hamlets what information was put on the planning register and the inquiry website. We have not misled the House. All inquiry documents are publicly available on that website, and if new potentially relevant information is drawn to the Department’s attention, it will be assessed. That includes consideration of its relevance, and whether it is necessary to obtain that information or refer back to parties. That is a routine process.

The Secretary of State transparently sought further information on the redacted drawings via a reference-back letter to parties issued on 6 August. I say again that no decision has been made on the case. I cannot comment on individual aspects of the case, and it would be entirely inappropriate for me to comment on any matter of national security, or on behalf of the security services. All inquiry documents, including the redacted drawings put forward by the applicant at application stage, are publicly available on the Tower Hamlets website. When the final decision is published, the decision letter will contain a list of post-inquiry representations, including those received as part of the reference-back exercise, and those will be publicly available on request.

[Sarah Champion (Rotherham) (Lab)]

Multiple Government agencies and Departments have raised concerns about this mega-embassy. Our international partners have raised concerns about it, and every security briefing I have 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. Internationally, China is terrorising the people of Hong Kong. It is terrorising democratic people in Taiwan, and it is terrorising some people already in the UK. I look to my local university of Sheffield Hallam, and also to what China is doing to parliamentarians right here. I want my Government to stand up to bullies, not to reward them. We need to put in place rules and limits around China to stop this behaviour, not reward it with the embassy that it so dearly wants.

[Matthew Pennycook]

I thank my hon. Friend for her questions, and I note and appreciate her concerns. We need a consistent position on China, which cannot be boiled down to one word. We recognise that China poses a series of threats to UK national security, and we challenge those robustly. China also presents opportunities to the UK, as the world’s second largest economy and the UK’s third largest trading partner. We will therefore continue to develop a consistent and pragmatic approach to economic engagement, without compromising our national security. On Hong Kong in particular we will not tolerate any attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas, especially in the UK.

On the matter before us, which is the particular case in question, as I have stressed before—I am afraid I will have to do so repeatedly—no decision has been made. I cannot comment on any aspects of the case, which is a live case for Planning Ministers to determine. All material considerations will be taken into account when making a decision, but I am afraid I cannot comment on any specific national security concerns.