Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question HL8772 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, through what mechanism her Department had access to the unredacted drawings.

It would not be appropriate to comment in detail on issues of national security, but as set out in the written representations by the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary to the Planning Inspectorate, we have carefully considered the breadth of national security risks associated with China's planning application.

A final decision has yet to be made. The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government in his independent, quasi-judicial role will make the final decision in due course.