Two arrested as protesters clash with police outside proposed site for new Chinese ‘mega-embassy’ in London

8 February 2025, 18:05

A man and a woman were arrested at the protest as more than a thousand people gathered outside Royal Mint Court, the proposed site for a "mega-embassy" for China in London.

Protesters spilled across the pedestrian crossings on Tower Bridge Road holding signs that said "CCP is watching you, Stop the mega embassy" and "Space for free speech".

A man and a woman were arrested at the protest against the proposed Chinese embassy in Tower Hill.

The Metropolitan Police said: "The protest has ended and road closures have been lifted.

"Officers arrested two people on suspicion of breaching the Section 14 (Public Order Act) conditions.

"We continue to have a presence in the area."

China wants to turn 20,000 sq metres of land at the historic Royal Mint Court into a ‘mega-embassy’ in the heart of the capital, right near the Tower of London.

If China builds its embassy on the site, which it bought in 2018, it would become the largest embassy in Europe - but it still hasn’t secured permission from the UK to go ahead.

The rally, organised by local residents and attended by groups of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Chinese dissidents and Hong Kongers, started on Saturday morning and quickly attracted thousands of protesters.

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A large group of protesters dressed in black approached the police, shouting aggressively, forcing them to retreat.

The masked protesters loudly marched towards the police while linking arms, as the police walked backwards towards a police van that was driving away from the crowd.Officers then moved at speed together into the central reservation of the Tower Bridge Road junction and stood in a formation.

It is one of several clashes that have erupted and quickly fizzled out at the rally.

The Metropolitan Police previously objected to the development at the Royal Mint Court on the basis that there is a lack of space outside the site for safe protests.

The site, which can hold around 1,200 protesters, quickly became overrun with thousands of people, forcing roads to close and bringing traffic in the city centre to a standstill.

One woman also appeared to have become unwell at the protest, and was seen lying on the rain-covered road as the at-times raucous crowd gathered, and police circled her.

The government is expected to make a decision on the embassy soon, with deputy prime Minister Angela Rayner getting the final say.

Former security minister Tom Tugendhat told the crowd that allowing China to go through with the plans would be a ‘grave mistake’.

Tugendhat said: "It wouldn't just be a turning point. It would be a grave mistake."It would be a very clear statement that our Government had chosen the wrong side and not the side that was for the defence and protection of the British people and our economic future."

He said letting the plans go ahead would send a message to the world that the British Government "hasn't learned the lessons of the last decade" and "just hasn't been listening".

Tugendhat had previously told LBC’s Nick Ferrari that he ‘has concerns’ over the United Front Work Department (UFWD), a department of the Chinese Communist Party involved in spying controversies and managing China’s image across the world.

He told Nick Ferrari: “I have concerns. Security threats have been raised about this – it would serve as a lily-pad for the UFWD to have a proper base in the heart of our capital.

"It is a very, very strange idea when we see the pattern of foreign influence attempts here."