Former MI6 chief Richard Moore has said the UK government should find a practical solution to allow China to build a new embassy in London, despite ongoing tensions between the two countries.
In a rare interview with Bloomberg’s The Mishal Husain Show, Moore said he was confident a compromise could be reached that would let both nations maintain strong diplomatic presences.
“I’m sure there has to be a way through where they get an appropriate embassy and we are allowed to retain and develop our own, excellent embassy in Beijing,” he told Bloomberg. “We need one in Beijing and it’s important that we have that, so it’s right and proper that the Chinese should get their embassy.”
China has sought approval to construct what would be Europe’s largest diplomatic compound on the site of the former Royal Mint near the Tower of London. However, the project has faced years of delay and controversy, with the original application rejected by local authorities in 2022. The decision now rests with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government, which postponed a final ruling until December amid renewed strain in UK-China relations following the collapse of an espionage case against two men accused of spying for Beijing.
Moore’s comments carry weight as they suggest Britain’s intelligence community may not oppose the embassy project if proper security safeguards are in place. He stepped down as head of MI6 in September after a five-year tenure and was succeeded by Blaise Metreweli, the agency’s first female chief.
Opponents of the embassy have raised national security concerns, pointing to alleged Chinese surveillance of dissidents in the UK and the site’s proximity to sensitive infrastructure, including underground communication networks. Beijing last month warned Britain of “consequences” should the project be blocked, prompting Starmer to tell Bloomberg that his government would not “cave to pressure.”
While supporting the principle of reciprocity in diplomatic representation, Moore also cautioned that Chinese espionage and cyber operations targeting the UK remain “pretty relentless.”
“China is involved in activities which threaten our interests and we should be very robust in pushing back against those,” he said. “Beijing respects strength in this space.”
The former spy chief declined to discuss the specifics of the failed espionage case but stressed that anyone caught spying for a foreign power “should expect to receive the consequences of that action.” He also acknowledged that Britain conducts its own intelligence operations against foreign nations, including China and Russia, saying he discouraged politicians from being “too moralistic” about espionage itself.
However, Moore drew a line at so-called hybrid warfare tactics, describing Russia’s use of arson and assassination attempts as unacceptable: “That’s where you have to be less tolerant,” he said.
