Overview
- Unredacted drawings reported by the Telegraph show a triangular underground chamber within a network of 208 rooms beside fibre-optic cables near the Royal Mint site.
- The plans indicate the chamber’s outer basement wall would be demolished and rebuilt directly next to the cable route and include at least two hot-air extraction systems.
- The Mansell Street cable corridor carries data for City of London institutions and nearby data centres, with owners including BT, Colt and Verizon; BT says it has robust protections.
- Alicia Kearns and other politicians warned of espionage and infrastructure risks, and the Met Police flagged potential strain from protests at the site.
- The Times reports Sir Keir Starmer is set to approve the embassy within days, citing no formal MI5 or MI6 objections and a push to consolidate China’s premises, while Beijing rejects spying claims.