An American diplomat's daughter is suing Westminster City Council, alleging that the local authority did not adequately consider her clinical anxiety when approving a neighboring property's conversion into the Montenegrin embassy. Diana Simpson, 35, argues that the council failed to account for the mental health implications of the new embassy in Pimlico, central London, when officials belatedly applied for planning permission.
Simpson, who has lived in the street for three decades and whose father is a former U.S. diplomat, receives disability benefits. She has been diagnosed with clinical anxiety, long Covid, and a functional neurological disorder. She stated that the proximity of the embassy has caused her to struggle with sleep and experience heightened anxiety, particularly at night, fearing intruders despite acknowledging the low probability of such an event.
"I am immediately fearing an intruder accessing my room from the embassy, despite knowing the possibility is very slim and that this response is mostly irrational," Simpson told the council, according to reports. She also expressed concern about the long-term viability of living in her home, which she had expected to inhabit for the rest of her life, and the potential disruption of leaving her "local tight-knit community."
Simpson's legal action alleges that the council acted irrationally and conducted a flawed public consultation, failing to take her medical conditions into account. The property, previously a five-bedroom family home, now serves as the embassy for Montenegro, a Balkan nation that gained independence in 2006.
Locals have also voiced objections, with one describing the new embassy's appearance as "gaudy" and "out of keeping with the quietly dignified" street, which features Grade II listed homes. Protesters have noted that the flagpole and flag of the new embassy "stick out like a sore thumb."
Westminster City Council has denied the accusations, stating that "There is no plausible interference with the claimant’s home or her private and family life." A spokesperson emphasized that councils are legally required to make decisions in line with existing planning policy and declined to comment further.
Montenegro's previous embassy in London was located in De Vere Gardens, Kensington, approximately two and a half miles away from the current Pimlico address. Both Ms. Simpson and Westminster City Council have been approached for further comment.