Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the redevelopment of a Chinese embassy in London on transnational repression efforts against Hong Kongers, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Chinese dissidents.

The planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this quasi-judicial decision independent from the rest of Government.

We are clear that national security is the first duty of Government. The Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary submitted written representations to the Planning Inspector on 14 January. That letter is clear that the Home Office has considered the breadth of national security issues.

We have a broad suite of powers to counter foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression. We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to keep people safe.