China’s London mega-embassy was bulletproofBy Matthew Brooker / Bloomberg OpinionThe end is in sight for the saga of China’s London “super embassy.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government has let it be known that it would approve Europe’s largest diplomatic compound on the site of the former Royal Mint, jumping the gun ahead of a twice-delayed formal decision due next month. The Royal Mint controversy has opened Starmer’s government to charges of placing economic advantage ahead of national security. It is unfortunate that Royal Mint Court, centered on a 19th-century Georgian mansion and including the ruins of a 14th-century Cistercian abbey, was sold to China. The Royal Mint Court Residents Association has sought two opinions from planning lawyer Charles Banner and is preparing to lodge a judicial review. Few who remember the China’s unanimously rejected attempt to win local approval would lose sleep over that.

Source: The Times November 29, 2025 16:53 UTC