Planning row Tower Hamlets, Keir Starmer and China's mega-embassy saga

In 2018, a prime piece of real estate near the Tower of London that was once home to a Cistercian abbey, and later the Royal Mint, was sold to the Chinese government.

- Eleni Courea

The £255m deal, brokered by Eddie Lister, one of Boris Johnson's closest aides, provided China with a site to build a new diplomatic complex across 20,000 sq metres.

China's then ambassador, Liu Xiaoming, expressed hopes that the deal would "write a new chapter for a China-UK golden era". But over the seven years that followed, this controversial "superembassy" plan- staunchly opposed by local residents, human rights campaigners and backbench MPSwas plunged into the deep freeze.

The decision is now in the hands of Steve Reed, who succeeded Angela Rayner as the housing secretary.

This is no run-of-themill planning matter for the government. The fate of the superembassy has become a test of good faith for Beijing in its relations with London. But green-lighting the plans will draw a backlash from opponents, including residents who are already exploring the possibility of a judicial review.

Critics say the site's proximity to the City of London presents a security risk, while pro-democracy Hongkongers living in the UK say the super-embassy will become a tool for the Chinese Communist party to harass its opponents.

Ministers have pushed back the deadline for a decision on the issue to 21 October after China refused their request to send unredacted drawings of its plans. The Guardian can disclose details of Beijing's behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign to overturn the block on its proposals before Labour ministers stepped in.

The decision by Tower Hamlets council to block the super-embassy proposal in 2022 came as a surprise to everyone, not least Beijing.