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MI5 'very relaxed' about Chinese super-embassy proposals in London
The Guardian
|November 21, 2025
MI5 officers told the House of Commons speaker at a private meeting that they could tackle the risks of a proposed Chinese super-embassy in London, opening the door to its approval.
The Guardian understands that in a meeting held with Lindsay Hoyle in the summer, senior figures from the Security Service indicated they were "very relaxed" about the prospect of a 20,000 sq metre embassy being constructed at Royal Mint Court near Tower Bridge.
It is considered that the espionage risks of the large outpost can be managed. China has long had a diplomatic presence in the UK, with its existing embassy on Portland Place dating back more than a century.
Keir Starmer is planning to travel to China for his first bilateral visit in January or February, according to several people briefed on the plans, but insiders believe that any trip is contingent on the embassy being approved by ministers next month.
When asked about the espionage risk posed by the embassy, Ken McCallum, the security agency's director general, indicated that MI5 believed the development was something it could deal with.
Denne historien er fra November 21, 2025-utgaven av The Guardian.
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FLERE HISTORIER FRA The Guardian
The Guardian
'I pinch myself sometimes: it's a proper second chance'
I heard the screaming and I didn't know what it was,” Boris Becker says as he remembers staring into the dark in Wandsworth prison, just over two miles from Wimbledon's Centre Court where he won the first of his three men's singles titles at the age of 17 in 1985. “Were people trying to kill themselves or harm themselves? Or couldn't they deal with their loneliness? Or are they just making crazy noises because they have lost their minds already?
7 mins
November 21, 2025
The Guardian
Winter in Gaza Food and shelter in short supply as first storm strikes
Everyone knew what was coming. But there was little the inhabitants of the tent cities that crowd the shore of southern Gaza could do as the storm approached.
4 mins
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The Guardian
European reaction Attempt to broker deal must involve EU, say diplomats
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3 mins
November 21, 2025
The Guardian
Revealed: Barnett's legal battle with GB Olympians
After John Regis and Jennifer Stoute and found offensive texts, a settlement followed
8 mins
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The Guardian
NCA investigation Crypto backed by Farage donor 'fuels Russian war effort'
A cryptocurrency backed by one of Nigel Farage's biggest donors has been used to help Russia fight its war against Ukraine, British investigators say The National Crime Agency (NCA) has spent four years trying to crack a multibillion-dollar scheme that exchanges cash from drug and gun sales in the UK for crypto, digital tokens that are designed to hide their users' identities.
4 mins
November 21, 2025
The Guardian
Ex-police officer gets 37th life term for assault on 12-year-old and rape
David Carrick, a former police officer and convicted sex offender, has been given a 37th life sentence at the Old Bailey with a minimum of 30 years for molesting a 12-year-old girl and raping a former partner.
1 min
November 21, 2025
The Guardian
BBC losing £1bn a year as number of homes without licence surges
The BBC is now losing more than £1bn a year from households either evading the licence fee or deciding they do not need one, according to a cross-party group of MPs who said the corporation was under severe pressure.
1 mins
November 21, 2025
The Guardian
Massa’s £64m Crashgate claim can go to trial, rules judge
Felipe Massa’s £64m claim against Formula One, its governing body the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone over Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 world championship in 2008 can go to trial, a high court judge has ruled.
2 mins
November 21, 2025
The Guardian
Too little, too late: Tory response to Covid crisis damned in report
The UK's response to Covid was \"too little, too late\", a damning official report on the handling of the pandemic has concluded, saying imposing a lockdown even one week earlier could have saved more than 20,000 lives.
4 mins
November 21, 2025
The Guardian
Zelenskyy in cautious response to 'peace plan'
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he will negotiate with Donald Trump on a US-backed peace plan that calls on Kyiv to make painful concessions in order to end the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.
4 mins
November 21, 2025
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