A secret plan to prevent the new Chinese embassy from spying on Britain policy

China’s plan to establish a new embassy at the Royal Mint Court site near the Tower of London was not just an ordinary planning file in Britain. Over the years, the project has sparked local and political objections amid warnings that the site could be used for espionage.

However, the iPaper newspaper now reveals that London did not wait for its final decision to take security action, but rather had begun, in secret, to prepare a plan to fortify the sensitive cables surrounding the site in anticipation of a potential danger, although the government later went on to approve the project early this year.

In an exclusive report, the newspaper says that the British government secretly approved measures to protect vital communications cables passing near the embassy site, three months before final approval was granted. According to court documents, these measures were put in place to confront what was described as the possibility of “illegal acts” threatening the security of the cables, at a time when Beijing’s requests to the diplomatic complex were still under consideration.

Cables at the back of the embassy

The sensitivity of the issue stems from the nature of these cables themselves. The site, according to iPaper, is located close to cables that form part of the London Internet Exchange (Linx), and carry communications data that banks rely on for basic daily work, as well as its connection to British Internet lines and sensitive communications related to the City of London Financial District.

The newspaper also indicates that a report prepared by several British intelligence agencies in 2019 about the Chinese threat specifically referred to the cables passing near the proposed location of the embassy.

The newspaper reveals that the Ministry of Interior prepared the protection plan without informing the relevant ministry of the planning request, despite repeated public government assurances that the site’s proximity to cables does not raise national security concerns. It also indicates that the measures may include encryption or transmission of cables, and that their cost may reach millions of pounds, with London likely not being able to recover this cost from China.

These details emerged during a judicial review filed by residents of Royal Mint Court to challenge the decision to approve the project, but this week the Supreme Court refused to expand the scope of the review to allow examination of the danger that may threaten nearby communication lines or the cost of fortification work, which left this aspect outside direct judicial discussion.

Fortify in secret

According to the documents cited by iPaper, on November 19, Interior Minister Shabana Mahmoud approved “precautionary and preventive measures” to protect the cables, after acknowledging that there were “broader national security concerns” related to the embassy. Only 3 months later, the government went ahead with adopting Beijing’s plans.

Mahmoud also told the court that she was not legally obligated to inform Steve Reid, the minister who was considering the planning application, of her decision, and that he was “still not informed” of the measures.

The newspaper adds that the Ministry of Interior did not request a financial contribution from China towards the cost of the work, under the pretext that Beijing’s request to do so would have required informing it of the nature of the procedures, which the government considered impossible “for reasons related to national security.”

A former security official was quoted as saying that the cost of these actions may be in the low millions, and that they require support from the National Cyber ​​Security Center of the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), but he stressed that such measures will not completely remove the risk of espionage.

In contrast, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government argued that the “lawful” use of the embassy did not indicate that it would interfere with the operation of the cables, and that the need for such measures was only related to the possibility of “unlawful acts”.

The newspaper also mentions that MI5 informed a number of MPs that the espionage risks associated with the Chinese diplomatic complex could be contained, while Security Minister Dan Jarvis said when the project was approved that a wide range of measures had already been taken to increase the durability of cables in the region and protect sensitive data.

Thus, in I Paper’s novel, the issue appears not just to be a planning dispute over a new diplomatic building, but rather a clear security paradox: London approved the Chinese embassy, ​​but did so after it had begun secretly fortifying the cables surrounding it in anticipation of a potential espionage threat.