A Tory MP has suggested Sir Keir Starmer could face a Labour civil war over his “act of self-sabotage” to approve China’s super-embassy. Ministers this week green-lit Beijing’s application to turn the former Royal Mint building, near the Tower of London, into a sprawling 22,000-square metre embassy despite security concerns. 

Appearing on the latest episode of the Daily Expresso podcast, Conservative MP Esther McVey said many in Labour had reservations as she blasted the Government for approving the plan. She told host JJ Anisiobi: “All sides of the House were unhappy. Actually, a lot of the Labour backbenchers were talking about the rights of people like the Uyghurs, the Tibetans, people who fled from Hong Kong to be here because the Chinese government are spying on them, sort of going after them.”

She added: “So they [Labour MPs] were looking to protect these people’s rights as it were.”

Last week, a group of nine Labour MPs wrote a letter urging the Government to reject China’s plan for the mega-embassy, referencing security worries.

They said they had “significant and unresolved” concerns about the proposal.

Campaigners and MPs from across the political spectrum have voiced fears the site in central London could be used by Beijing as a base for spying and security crackdowns.

Residents living close to the future embassy have vowed to continue to challenge the Government’s approval of the plans.

Critics have raised concerns about what are described as hidden rooms proposed for the site, as well as its close proximity to communication cables essential to the UK’s financial sector.

Security minister Dan Jarvis said he was “assured that the UK national security is protected” and any risks posed by the new embassy were being “appropriately managed”, while the heads of MI5 and GCHQ said intelligence agencies had created a “package of national security mitigations”.

Security services have reportedly drawn up plans to move crucial internet cables away from the site at Royal Mint Court.

Ms McVey cited the approval of the embassy as a factor for this week being “one of the most shameful weeks in British politics”.

Ms McVey said: “This was the week that Labour voted to weaken our nation by dismantling our national security and they voted for it via the front door, via the back door and also to attack, I will say, our veterans, our Army veterans.”

The Conservative MP compared the Chinese embassy to a “Trojan horse” and slammed the Prime Minister for “dismantling” the UK.

“We are weakened in every which way. Weakened financially, now weakened that we are taking money off what would be our national threat and they’re going to take over us from within.”

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