The Royal Mint Court Residents’ Association (RMCRA) has filed a High Court challenge to the UK Government’s decision to grant planning permission for the redevelopment of the Royal Mint Court site into a new Chinese “super-embassy”.

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RMCRA is supported in its legal challenge by the Inter‑Parliamentary Alliance on China and is represented by law firm Leigh Day.

RMCRA residents live in around 100 homes in St Mary Graces Court, the residential part of Royal Mint Court that sits directly beside the proposed embassy site.

RMCRA argues that the Government’s decision was unlawful, procedurally unfair, and failed to take into account key factors including the implications of granting planning permission for a site already designated as diplomatic premises, and therefore given special legal protection that prevents the UK from entering the site or enforcing planning rules there.

Residents also say the Government approved the development without properly addressing everyday issues such as the impact of potential protests, emergency access and public safety, and without explaining how the UK can enforce safety‑critical conditions on premises that it is legally barred from entering.

Residents are also challenging the decision to commit public money to national security measures linked to the development. On the same day planning permission was granted, the Minister for Security announced a package of Government‑funded measures to protect sensitive telecommunications infrastructure near the site. Residents argue that the public money spent on these measures should have been openly assessed as part of the decision.

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Families of failed asylum seekers will be offered up to £40,000 to leave the UK under a trial scheme announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

Mahmood said the government would seek to forcibly remove failed asylum seekers if they do not accept "incentive payments" of up to £10,000 per person, capped at four per family, within seven days.

The scheme is expected to target about 150 families living in taxpayer-funded accommodation, and the Home Office estimates it could save £20m if successful.

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British police arrested three men, including the husband of a sitting MP, on suspicion of spying for China. The news comes weeks after Keir Starmer traveled to Beijing in a bid to repair ties with the country.

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British police said in a statement

that three men were arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service.

That stood in violation of section 3 of the National Security Act, 2023, which was introduced to give authorities greater power to tackle foreign interference.

In the statement, police confirmed that the country in question was China. The statement didn't name the men, in keeping with UK practice.

All three men, aged 39, 43 and 68, remain in custody.

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According to UK media reports, David Taylor, who is married to Joani Reid, the Labour lawmaker representing the East Kilbride area, was arrested.

Reid said in a statement to newspapers like the Times and Telegraph that she had "never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law."

"I am not part of my husband’s business activities and neither I nor my children are part of this investigation," it read. "I have never been to China. I have never spoken on China or China-related ​matters in the (House of) Commons."

Asked about the reports in parliament, Dan Jarvis, the security minister, declined to give any further details. Jarvis said later in a statement: "We will always challenge any country, including China, that attempts to interfere with or undermine the integrity of our democratic institutions."

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Last November, Britain's domestic intelligence agency warned British lawmakers that China was using headhunters on LinkedIn and other covert operatives to recruit and compromise them.

That rare warning bell came two months after a political scandal erupted in the country over the collapse of an espionage case against two British men accused of passing sensitive information to China.

The new arrests now present a new challenge for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has pledged to reset ties with China after years of mistrust complicated ties between the countries.

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