Labour and the Conservatives have clashed in the House of Commons over the plans for the new Chinese embassy in London after the government said it “will not tolerate” the country’s attempts to “interfere with our sovereign affairs.”
The Security Minister Dan Jarvis set out a list of measures the UK is taking to prevent “covert and calculated” attempts to interfere with the way the country is run.
Shadow home affairs spokesperson Alicia Kearns told MPs: “We would refuse permission for that embassy” – referring to the proposed Chinese Embassy near to the Tower of London
There has been ongoing criticism about the go-ahead for the site in Tower Hamlets, with cables that carry sensitive data for firms in the City of London running underneath.
Kearns stated: “If the Government will not, will they at least require the Chinese Government to pay for sensitive underground cables to be re-routed away from the embassy?”
Kearns also addressed concerns over academic freedoms, referring to Sheffield Hallam University being “blackmailed by Chinese security services into cancelling research on state-sanctioned Uyghur slave labour” and the collapse of cases against two British men accused of spying for China.
Jarvis insisted that “national security has been the core priority throughout” the process of planning the embassy.
The government is expected to make a final decision on the Chinese Embassy proposal by mid-December.
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HeadlineCommons hears new calls for Chinese embassy plan to be refused
Short HeadlineCommons hears new calls to stop Chinese embassy
StandfirstSenior Conservative MP says 'we would refuse permission for that embassy', after government's China spy claims
Labour and the Conservatives have clashed in the House of Commons over the plans for the new Chinese embassy in London after the government said it “will not tolerate” the country’s attempts to “interfere with our sovereign affairs.”
The Security Minister Dan Jarvis set out a list of measures the UK is taking to prevent “covert and calculated” attempts to interfere with the way the country is run.
Shadow home affairs spokesperson Alicia Kearns told MPs: “We would refuse permission for that embassy” – referring to the proposed Chinese Embassy near to the Tower of London
There has been ongoing criticism about the go-ahead for the site in Tower Hamlets, with cables that carry sensitive data for firms in the City of London running underneath.
Kearns stated: “If the Government will not, will they at least require the Chinese Government to pay for sensitive underground cables to be re-routed away from the embassy?”
Kearns also addressed concerns over academic freedoms, referring to Sheffield Hallam University being “blackmailed by Chinese security services into cancelling research on state-sanctioned Uyghur slave labour” and the collapse of cases against two British men accused of spying for China.
Jarvis insisted that “national security has been the core priority throughout” the process of planning the embassy.
The government is expected to make a final decision on the Chinese Embassy proposal by mid-December.
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