The U.K. government on Tuesday (January 20, 2026) approved China's plans for a so-called mega or super embassy in the heart of London, overriding security concerns raised by parliamentarians and campaigners to stress that all "material considerations” had been taken into account.
The planning permission for the proposed construction at the 20,000-square-metre site of the former Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London had been “called in” for a ministerial review as a matter of national significance.
The Labour Party government’s own MPs and Opposition Tories were among those strongly opposed to the plans being greenlit, given the site’s proximity to the City of London financial district and characterising China as a “hostile state”.
“This statement follows the decision I made today to grant planning permission and listed b
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