Chinese Embassy Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Mark Sewards
Main Page: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)Department Debates - View all Mark Sewards's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(1 day, 11 hours ago)
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Matthew Pennycook
I note the right hon. Gentleman’s concerns, and the Security Minister and other Ministers will have heard them too. However, the case is specifically a planning decision to be made in accordance with the propriety rules and other considerations that Planning Ministers have to take into account as part of the quasi-judicial process, but all material considerations will be taken into account as part of that process.
Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)
My constituent, Chloe Cheung, has to live with the fact that she has a £100,000 bounty placed on her head under the national security law in Hong Kong. She walks around every day knowing that anyone here could claim that bounty by taking her to the Chinese embassy and handing her over to the authorities. Now she is worried that she might find herself locked away in one of the secret rooms shown in the new embassy plans. What exactly are the Government going to do to ensure that Chloe is protected and kept safe, and that that never happens to her or anyone else with a £100,000 bounty on their head, if the new embassy is approved?
Matthew Pennycook
I recognise my hon. Friend’s frustration and anger on behalf of his constituent. We will not tolerate transnational repression of the kind that he is concerned about. Specifically, the counterfactual here is not that the Chinese do not have an embassy; they have seven diplomatic premises in the UK already. Again, I come back to the fact that we will make a decision on this case on the material planning considerations that pertain to it.