A senior planning lawyer has advised the UK government that it would be unlawful to grant planning permission for China’s proposed embassy at Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London, citing extensive redactions in the application and the legal protections afforded by diplomatic immunity.
Lord Banner KC submitted the opinion on Monday, just ahead of the deadline for formal objections, and urged the new housing secretary, Steve Reed, to be provided with unredacted plans before any decision is made. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has indicated Reed is expected to decide on or before Oct. 21.
Residents of flats at Royal Mint Court commissioned the legal advice as part of their campaign against the scheme. They and other opponents say they fear China, which is now their landlord, could ultimately force residents to leave. The plan would convert the historic Royal Mint Court site into what China and opponents describe as one of the largest, if not the largest, embassies in Europe.
One of the most contentious aspects of the application has been widespread redactions in the plans, with several rooms’ intended uses obscured. Lord Banner said that because parts of Royal Mint Court are listed, it "cannot tenably be said that the detail omitted by the redactions could have no possible planning consequences." He said planners need to assess "the potential uses of the redacted rooms, any structural or safety (including but not limited to fire safety) implications of any physical structures" and other consequences that are currently concealed.
Lord Banner also warned that any activities on territory granted diplomatic status would be protected by diplomatic immunity, giving the People's Republic of China "carte blanche" over what could take place inside the embassy. He said assurances from the PRC would be "meaningless" in law because an embassy and its staff benefit from inviolability under the Vienna Convention and could legally reverse such assurances.
Earlier this year the former housing secretary, Angela Rayner, exercised a power to "call in" the planning application so the final decision would be taken by central government rather than Tower Hamlets Council. Rayner had written to Chinese representatives in August asking them to "explain the rationale and justification for each of the redactions." Planning consultants working for China later clarified the use of some rooms but declined to disclose others, arguing that "the internal functional layout for embassy projects is different from other projects" and noting the application for the new U.S. embassy in Nine Elms also did not disclose internal layouts.
Security and public-safety concerns have been raised by the Foreign Office and Home Office. Part of the site includes a paved forecourt with the ruins of a Cistercian abbey that China has proposed remain publicly accessible alongside a planned Chinese heritage centre. Officials warned this could create "specific public order and national security risks" because, if the land were sovereign embassy territory, police and emergency services might be unable to enter in an emergency. China has declined to enclose the area within the embassy's security perimeter but has offered, as a planning condition, to allow police or emergency services access if necessary. Lord Banner said such a condition would not be enforceable given diplomatic immunity.
Conservative politicians and security experts have also warned about potential technical risks, including the proximity of fibre-optic cables carrying sensitive financial data in the City of London.
The Royal Mint Court Residents' Association said Lord Banner's opinion had "shown why the Chinese Embassy at the Royal Mint cannot be approved" and called on the government to halt the application or face a judicial review. A MHCLG spokesperson said it would not be appropriate to comment further in a way that could prejudice any final decision.
The Chinese Embassy in London said it "is committed to promoting understanding and the friendship between the Chinese and British peoples and the development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. Building the new embassy would help us better perform such responsibilities."