Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessments of the potential impact of approving a new Chines embassy on Hong Kongers in the UK.

The decision on whether or not to approve planning permission for the proposed Chinese Embassy site at the Royal Mint Court is an independent one for the Secretary of State for the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government in his quasi-judicial role.

Protecting the public and our national security has been the key priority for the Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office during the planning process. We have made this clear in public representations to the inquiry throughout. The Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary confirmed in their 27 November representation to the planning enquiry that the public safety and national security concerns raised in previous representations have been addressed.

This Government stands with members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and will continue to support them. Any attempt by China or any other foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated. Wherever we identify such threats, we will use any and all measures, including through our world-class intelligence services, to mitigate risk to individuals.