Why a Chinese ‘mega embassy’ is not such a worry for British spies

Politicians are raising the alarm, while MI5 quietly welcomes the prospect of Beijing's new London facility

While there has been no shortage of politicians eager to raise concerns about China's proposed mega embassy" near the Tower of London, the espionage community quietly takes a different view, arguing that concerns about the development are exaggerated and misplaced.

The domestic Security Service, MI5, is already quietly welcoming the prospect of rationalising China's seven diplomatic sites to one, but a more significant argument is that modern technology and the nature of the Chinese threat means that, in the words of one former British intelligence officer, embassies are less and less relevant".