Overview

• Downing Street set a new target date of 10 December for the ruling and stressed the deadline is not legally binding.
• A Department of Housing letter cited outstanding input from the Home Office and Foreign Office as a reason for the extension.
• Parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy urged refusal, warning of eavesdropping and sabotage risks due to nearby fibre‑optic infrastructure.
• Ministers have taken over the decision after the application was called in, following a 2022 rejection by Tower Hamlets and submissions containing redacted basement plans.
• Beijing defends the project as standard diplomatic practice and rejects security claims, while scrutiny has intensified following the collapse of a recent China spying case.