LONDON: An English court threw out a challenge on Friday against planning permission for a Chinese “mega” embassy in central London, but residents seeking to block the contentious project vowed to fight on.
A campaign group of local residents and businesses had taken their case to the High Court, backed by opposition politicians and Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, asking for the government decision to be re-examined.
They argued the government had not listened to their fears about the impact of the vast new embassy next to the Tower of London, including the heightened risk of a terror attack, of espionage and the harassment of dissidents.
But after a hearing this month, two judges on Friday dismissed the claims, saying the housing minister had acted lawfully by granting planning permission in January. The judgement only considered whether the government had acted lawfully, not the merits of the planning decision.
The Royal Mint Court Residents Association said it would apply for permission to appeal, hoping its case would reach the Supreme Court. It said it had relaunched crowd-funding efforts to fund legal costs.
“Beijing thinks this judgement is the final word. It isn’t. The appeal is already in the works,” Luke de Pulford, head of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said in a statement.
“If they expect us to roll over and allow our own capital to become a CCP (Communist Party) power centre, they have completely misjudged the strength of opposition to this mega embassy.”
Former Conservative opposition leader Ian Duncan Smith, who has campaigned against the embassy, said he would raise “China policy” with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham. He said Beijing had pressured Britain to agree to the construction.
Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2026