China‘s new super-embassy could be used to spy on the whole of Europe, a security expert warned today – as plans revealed a secret chamber next to sensitive cables.
Unredacted papers – unveiled last night night – supposedly show a hidden room in the north west corner of the building – just metres away from a vital fibre-optic cable network transmitting financial data from the City of London and Canary Wharf.
Professor Anthony Glees, a professor of intelligence and security at University of Buckingham, said it would be ‘absolutely mad’ to allow China to proceed with the development.
‘You can see from the plans how close rooms run to those cables – they can be tapped very easily,’ he told LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast.
‘There are also heating systems suitable for large servers. In my view, this would not just spy on the UK, it would become the Chinese intelligence hub for the whole of Europe.’
Professor Glees also raised concerns about the size of the embassy complex, suggesting it could be used to intimidate and detain critics – citing a 2022 incident when a Hong Kong democracy protester was dragged into the Chinese consulate in Manchester and assaulted.
His warning coincides with a letter from a group of Labour MPs who are urging Sir Keir Starmer to reject China’s plans – which could be greenlit as soon as this week.
In a letter to Communities Secretary Steve Reed, they raised security concerns and said the embassy could be used to ‘step up intimidation’ against dissidents.
China is reportedly planning to build a secret underground room that could be used to spy on the UK at the site of its controversial ‘super embassy’ in London. Pictured: Concept plans for the embassy which will be located on the former Royal Mint site
The MPs, including Sarah Champion – who is a member of parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, said concerns about the proposal are ‘significant and unresolved’.
They cite ‘the recent track record of Chinese espionage cases, interference activities, and issuing of bounties against UK-based Hong Kongers’, as well as ‘the fact that this embassy would sit above sensitive infrastructure critical to both the UK’s economic and national security‘.
The secret room seen in the plans is triangular and measures up to 40 metres across and 2-3 metres deep.
It includes at least two air extraction systems, according to The Telegraph, seemingly indicating it could house heat-generating equipment such as high-tech computers.
It is part of a network of 208 secret rooms – a majority of which are hidden from the public in planning proposals – beneath Beijing’s ‘super-embassy’, which is set to be built on the site of the Royal Mint pending approval from Sir Keir Starmer.
MPs from across the political spectrum have urged the Government to reject China’s application for a new embassy on the site of the former Royal Mint, citing security concerns.
Downing Street is said to have proposed that the Prime Minister approves the plans before he visits China later this month in a bid to smooth over relations with President Xi Jinping following a series of planning delays.
But there are fears the new embassy could be used as a ‘spy centre’, with some critics raising concerns that China could tap into the cables and eavesdrop on key information.
China wants to create a huge diplomatic headquarters on a historic site near the City of London
Documents also reveal that the outer wall of the chamber, lying directly next to the cables, would be demolished and rebuilt, further fuelling fears they could be tapped.
Security expert Professor Alan Woodward said this was a ‘red flag’ and having the cables so close to the building would be an ‘enormous temptation’ for China.
Last year, The Mail on Sunday revealed that planning documents for the embassy included ‘spy dungeons’ – two suites of basement rooms and a tunnel, with their purpose redacted for security reasons.
Diplomatic sources also revealed that a proposed ‘spy campus’ will provide on-site accommodation for more than 200 intelligence officers at the embassy.
A row has rumbled on about the planned mega embassy since 2018 when China bought the 215,280 sq ft site for £255million from the Crown Estate.
Security fears were immediately raised over the land’s proximity to sensitive underground communications in the Square Mile.
The cables along Mansell Street, which belong to companies including BT, Colt Technologies and Verizon, carry communications to and from financial institutions in the City of London.
China’s President Xi at a Communist Party event yesterday
The Mail on Sunday revealed that planning documents for the embassy included ‘spy dungeons’ (highlighted in red above) – two suites of basement rooms and a tunnel, with their purpose redacted for security reasons
They sit directly between financial hubs in the City and Canary Wharf and close to three major data centres, including the Stock Exchange.
Those who have fled Hong Kong’s Chinese regime also fear the huge embassy would be used as a base to hunt them down.
Copies of plans with redacted basement rooms revealed in The Mail on Sunday also heightened fears about China’s plans for the complex.
It revealed that planning documents for the controversial embassy include ‘two suites of anonymous unlabelled basement rooms and a tunnel’, with their exact purpose ‘redacted for security reasons’.
China has dismissed claims the embassy could be an espionage hub, while BT told the Telegraph it had ‘robust security measures in place’ and worked with the Government to protect its assets.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said in a post on X that the unredacted plans were ‘shocking’, adding: ‘No one committed to our national security could possibly sign this off. But Kowtow-Keir will.’
