Steve Reed, Reject China’s Royal Mint Court Embassy

The Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

6 January 2026

FOLLOW-UP: URGENT DECISION PENDING – REJECT CHINA’S ROYAL MINT COURT EMBASSY

Dear Secretary of State,

We write further to our letter of 25 November 2025,[1] to which we have yet to receive a response from your office. With a final decision on the proposed Chinese Embassy at Royal Mint Court expected later this month, we, representing UK-based Tibetans and Tibet groups and tens of thousands of concerned supporters, reiterate our urgent call for you to once again reject the proposed Chinese mega-embassy at Royal Mint Court.

Granting this super-sized Chinese state embassy on UK soil is not simply a diplomatic misjudgement; it is a serious strategic error that runs counter to UK national security advice and endangers the Tibetan community. We write at a moment of particular gravity following the further sentencing of British citizen Jimmy Lai under Beijing-controlled security law. [2] His continued imprisonment, now compounded by life in prison, underscores the Chinese government’s ongoing contempt for human rights, international norms, and the welfare of British nationals.

• China’s willingness to silence critics far beyond its borders goes beyond the case of Jimmy Lai, and you simply cannot grant the Chinese state an expanded and highly prestigious diplomatic foothold in the heart of London. Incidents that are not isolated events but are part of a broader, systemic pattern that has been well documented by MI5 and include:
• In 2022, a Hong Kong protester was dragged into the Manchester consulate and brutally beaten by Chinese state actors, an incident confirmed on video [3]

Beijing has issued bounties on UK-based Hongkongers, and Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Chinese dissidents report persistent surveillance and harassment linked to a Chinese state actor. [4]

China’s embassy proposal must be assessed against these documented records of coercion, intimidation, and violence that has been witnessed on British soil. A new expose by The Sunday Times has discovered that Beijing has been steadily increasing its diplomatic presence in the UK, adding new officials every two months, and has been buying properties across London, many of which are not registered as official diplomatic residences. Detractors have described it as “an invasion of spies”. [5]

As you will be very aware, MI5 has previously confirmed that the mega embassy would significantly endanger UK national security, with a source from the services saying, “What concerns us is in this case is‬‭ the disproportionate scale of the current Chinese increase linked to the new‬ ‭embassy and the security implications that brings with it. Ultimately, it’s a political decision. We can only advise. And we’ll have to accept the consequences. But the consequences could be massive:‬ politically, for business and for dissidents living here.” [6] This serious advice comes alongside revelations concerning aggressive Chinese intelligence agents who have been attempting to recruit thousands of individuals linked to our democratic system at Westminster, offering substantial financial incentives for privileged information.

The UK government continues to state the administration’s policy on China is to cooperate where it can, compete where it needs to, and challenge where it must. However, as your decision now approaches, it remains deeply concerning that the UK may compromise national security by granting China a prime intelligence hub in the heart of London. Approving this super-sized embassy would place citizens like us, residents [7], and vulnerable communities at heightened risk of transnational repression and would represent a reckless abandonment of the UK’s duty to protect British residents.

This is a moment for you and the UK government to act with leadership and deliver an unequivocal and absolute rejection of the proposed Chinese Embassy at Royal Mint Court.

Anything less is an insult to the British people and a failure of national leadership.

Sincerely,

Endnotes:

[1] International Tibet Network, 25 November 2025: Open Letter To UK Housing Secretary: Reject China’s Mega-Embassy https://tibetnetwork.org/no-to-china/
[2] Reporters Without Borders, RSF slams guilty verdict in sham trial of British publisher Jimmy Lai, 15 December 2025 https://rsf.org/en/hong-kong-rsf-slams-guilty-verdict-sham-trial-british-publisher-jimmy-lai
A Line in the Sand: International Tibet Network Demands the Freedom of Jimmy Lai, 15 December 2025 https://tibetnetwork.org/a-line-in-the-sand-international-tibet-network-demands-the-freedom-of-jimmy-lai/
[3] BBC News 26 July 2025. UK condemns Hong Kong cash offer for help in arresting activists https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx069we39xo
Sky News, September 2025 Hong Kong activists with bounties on their heads say they don’t feel safe in the UK https://news.sky.com/video/hong-kong-activists-with-bounties-on-their-heads-say-they-dont-feel-safe-in-the-uk-13435767
[4] Amnesty International reports on PRC transnational repression and UK Foreign Affairs Committee inquiries documenting intimidation of Tibetans, Uyghurs and dissidents. https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/138330/default/
[5] The Times, China’s battle for a giant ‘spy base’ in London, 22 December 2025
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/invasion-of-spies-inside-the-fight-to-build-chinas-new-embassy-t5q0h6w86
[6] The Times, 21 November 2025. Keir Starmer to approve Chinese embassy plan with blessing of MI5 https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/keir-starmer-visit-china-lsmqknm3c
The Times, China’s battle for a giant ‘spy base’ in London, 22 December 2025 https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/invasion-of-spies-inside-the-fight-to-build-chinas-new-embassy-t5q0h6w86
[7] Tower Hamlets Council planning committee minutes for December 2022 and December 2024. https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/News_events/2024/December/Tower-Hamlets-refuses-Chinese-Embassy-planning-applications.aspx