Proposed Chinese Embassy Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Harriet Cross
Main Page: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)Department Debates - View all Harriet Cross's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(1 day, 16 hours ago)
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Seema Malhotra
We continue to raise all human rights concerns at the highest levels of the Chinese Government. It is important to say that any new diplomatic positions at the Chinese embassy must be approved, on a case-by-case basis, by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s protocol department. The UK has control over the number of diplomats in the UK, as per the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations. We will always take the security of all those in our country extremely seriously.
Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)
The Minister said that the intelligence services are engaged, but she has not given any information about whether they are happy or able mitigate any risks. Why can she not give us that information? On the timeline, the first application was rejected in 2022; the revised application was submitted in 2024, and was called in; and we are now in 2026. A decision has been made within a week, based on the unredacted plans we saw a week ago. Why such a quick turnaround?
Seema Malhotra
Let me reiterate: the decision on the embassy must be taken in the proper way. It is a matter for Ministers at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and it is an independent process. We have been clear on that throughout the process.