'Secret spy camera' sparks espionage fears over Chinese mega-embassy

The discovery of a "secret spy camera" has sparked espionage fears over the Chinese mega-embassy in London.

A hidden camera was uncovered by security officials within a suite of offices which houses the Home Office and the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), ministers have now been told.

The revelation of the hidden camera located in the offices on Marsham Street in Victoria, central London, has sparked espionage fears as the building had been involved in the controversial planning application for the China's proposed mega-embassy.

A source familiar with the incident - which occurred in the last two months - told the i Paper the Security Services had been informed.

What remains unclear is who placed the camera in a sensitive location and how long it was there.

The device was discovered in a communal area of a shared building used by multiple civil servants and not in or near ministerial offices.

There is no suggestion the camera was planted by Russia or China-linked actors.

Civil service staff were shocked by the device's discovery, fearing they had been watched or listened to, and speculating as to how and why it had been placed.

Several civil servants have said the discovery reminded them of former Health Secretary Matt Hancock's 2021 scandal, when leaked CCTV footage showed him making out with Gina Coladangelo in his office.

The public outrage focused on Mr Hancock's hypocrisy in the face of quarantine, but Whitehall was also concerned sensitive department meetings and conversations might be monitored.

Tory Shadow Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart has said the incident needs to be urgently investigated, adding that it raised serious questions about security within Government department offices.

He said: "We urgently need to know who was responsible, how long this device was in place, and whether any sensitive or classified information has been compromised."

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The Home Office and MHCLG were involved in the highly controversial planning decision to approve the new Chinese mega-embassy in the home of the former Royal Mint.

It had previously been revealed the site is located near fiber-optic cables carrying vast quantities of highly sensitive information from the City of London, which raised concerns Beijing could infiltrate the UK's financial infrastructure.

Communities Secretary Steve Reed granted planning permission and building consent for the Tower Hamlets on January 20, noting no national security bodies had raised any concern.

The decision to approve the Chinese mega-embassy was widely criticised at the time, including by the Conservatives, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, the Liberal Democrats, and Reform UK.

Mr Reed dismissed the fears and concerns raised by other parties, telling GB News it was "scare-mongering" a week after giving planning approval for the former Royal Mint site.

Reform UK MP Danny Kruger told GB News in January: "It is disgraceful that the Labour Government should be considering approving this.

"A huge new spy base for this great strategic adversary of our country right here in the City of London, right next to some of these crucial internet cables that run along under the underground here."

Shadow Communities Secretary Sir James Cleverly described it as a "disgraceful act of cowardice" and Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel described it as a "shameful super embassy surrender".

And Lib Dem Foreign Affairs spokesman Calum Miller said the Government should be "ashamed of its decision" to approve the embassy.

Just last week, the Five Eyes alliance - comprising of intelligence agencies from the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand - warned Chinese spies were using fake job listing on websites such as LinkedIn in order to trick UK government and military staff into revealing state secrets.

An MHCLG spokesperson told the i Paper: "We do not comment on security matters."

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