Britain must wake up to China acting as hostile threat after 'consequences' threat

China is behaving like a "hostile state" by threatening "consequences" if Britain doesn't let it build a super embassy in London.

The Government confirmed it had pushed back a decision on the controversial application at the former Royal Mint building in Central London to December 10.

And Beijing reacted with fury, declaring that Britain should "immediately fulfil its obligations and honour its commitments otherwise the British side shall bear all consequences".

Former Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said: "China has spied on Parliament, attacked dissidents, threatened Hongkongers, stolen technology. collapsed businesses.

"But somehow. they claim the UK has shown "disregard for contractual spirit, acting in bad faith and without integrity".

"And they end it with a threat: 'The UK must "immediately fulfil its obligations and honor its commitments, otherwise the British side shall bear all consequences'.

"This is the behaviour of a hostile state stealing British jobs, damaging our future, and threatening our people.

"It's time we woke up."

And Luke de Pulford, the co-founder of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said: "This is exactly how authoritarians behave. Ignore. Bark always worse than bite with Beijing. Do not revert to preemptive self-censorship. Stand up for the UK."

Downing Street pushed back on Beijing's claims, with a spokesman saying the UK did not "recognise any claims of commitments or assurances" over the embassy.

Leading China hawk Neil O'Brien said it would be "illegal" for the Government to make such commitments on a planning application to the Chinese.

Earlier in the week, Parliament's Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy urged Housing Secretary Steve Reed to reject Beijing's application for a new embassy at the former Royal Mint, near the Tower of London.

Committee chairman Matt Western said approving the plans was "not in the UK's long-term interest" and claimed the site posed spying risks due to its proximity to communications networks and data centres.

He also noted reports of plans for basement rooms and tunnels and that the security services have warned that allowing Beijing to set up the biggest embassy in Europe would create a hub for the country to expand its "intelligence-gathering and intimidation operations".

It comes after the head of MI5, Sir Ken McCallum branded China a "threat" and revealed his frustration over the bungled prosecution of two suspected moles.

Sir Ken said the security service worked "very hard" to make convictions possible, "so it's frustrating when they don't happen".

MI5 also foiled a plot directed by Beijing in the past week, the intelligence chief revealed.

Sir Ken said: "Do Chinese state actors present a UK national security threat? The answer is, of course they do, every day.

"I said that last year, I said it the year before, I said it the year before that.

"If I'm in this job a year from now, I'm sure I will say it then too."

Chinese spies regularly try to steal state secrets, academic research, business information and harass and kidnap dissidents living in the UK.

And Labour is facing intense scrutiny over its role in the collapse of the trial of two alleged spies - Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry.

Downing Street branded claims Prime Minister Sir Keir should have intervened in the case - which collapsed in September - as "frankly absurd".

Mr Cash - a former Parliamentary researcher who worked on China policies - and Mr Berry - who both deny the charges - were accused of passing sensitive information to a Chinese intelligence agent.

Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Collins said a meeting between Mr Berry and a senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader in July 2022 was "highly unlikely" to have happened "unless the Chinese state considered him to be someone who could obtain valuable information".

Mr Collins said Mr Cash was made aware "in detail" of the July 2022 meeting, with the researcher allegedly sending Mr Berry a message which read: "You're in spy territory now."