Angela Rayner faced claims last night that she had only raised questions over the new Chinese mega-embassy after being ‘spooked’ by briefings over national security concerns.
The Deputy Prime Minister has demanded Beijing provides additional information after the blueprints contained blacked-out drawings.
Several rooms on planning documents submitted to Tower Hamlets Council, including the basement area, have been marked ‘redacted for security reasons’.
A letter sent from Ms Rayner’s department has given the embassy a two-week deadline to supply unredacted drawings and explain the reasons for not showing them.
The move marked a change in tone for the Government over the embassy, amid fears that despite warnings of an espionage risk, Labour would agree to the plan.
But a well-placed source told The Mail on Sunday that Ms Rayner has been ‘spoken to’ by the security services, who had flagged concerns over the application.
The source claimed the advice had forced the Deputy PM to at least ask more questions over what would be the biggest embassy complex in Europe.
The Royal Mint Court site, near London’s financial district, has sparked fears it will include ‘spy dungeons’ in the heart of the City.
Last week, it emerged that Ms Rayner, who is also in charge of local government and housing, had given China the two-week deadline to explain the mystery.
The source said: ‘There is a tribe in the Foreign Office who think we should be closer to China. They think that lots of good things would happen – diplomatically, with investment – if we were to green-light the embassy.’
But the source added: ‘Now other voices are saying there are a lot of reasons to be cautious, including that the Chinese are not being as open as we would like about the planning. They have spoken to her, and Rayner’s been spooked.’
A Government source responded by saying they could not comment on planning matters.
Ms Rayner also faced claims that she was ‘politicising’ the issue.
Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly said: ‘Everything she does, and every decision she makes, she sees through the prism of her leadership ambitions.
‘The Government rushed to try and please the Chinese Communist party, including making big announcements about this embassy. They clearly didn’t ask the serious questions about its size, scale and use – and they’re clearly trying to play catch-up.’
In an interview to be released today, Reform deputy leader
Richard Tice told the Latika Takes podcast: ‘I don’t think we should be accepting their new proposed embassy in the heart of the City of London.’
The Chinese Embassy said last week that it took ‘into full consideration’ the UK’s planning policy when it submitted the application.
