𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Keir Starmer will insist he has not created a national security nightmare. But many are incredibly concerned the Prime Minister has just given Chinese spies an opportunity to harvest huge amounts of sensitive data from communication cables transmitting financial data to the City of London, as well as email and messaging traffic for millions of internet users.

Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Steve Reed seems to have waved through the decision because “no bodies with responsibility for national security” raised “concerns or objected to the proposal” because of the “proximity of the cables or other underground infrastructure”. This, in many respects, ignores how Beijing spies on the West.

They gather vast amounts of data many would deem inconsequential, at a rate Western intelligence services could not keep up with.

Each potential clue then allows them to adapt their operations and ensure they are tailor-made to their targets.

MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum said China poses a threat “every day” as they try to seize a strategic advantage.

Waging what is essentially economic warfare, the Chinese Communist Party, wants to rewire the global order where the West is no longer on top, where Xi Jinping is unquestionably the most powerful man in the World.

To do so, China is seeking total economic dominance. Through its Belt and Road Initiative, the CCP wants to “invest” in more than 150 countries and create global trade routes.

But critics argue that what Xi Jinping is doing is engaging in “debt trap diplomacy” by luring poorer countries and developing economies into expensive infrastructure projects where the exorbitant interest rates bind Governments closer and closer to China.

And this extends to the major economies in the West. Britain’s new F35 stealth fighter jets, for example, require rare earth minerals predominantly controlled by China. In fact, many advanced weapons systems used by Western militaries rely on rare earth minerals from China.

Analysts believe Beijing controls more than 80% of global rare earth production.

This means that in the terrifying context of a war with China, Western militaries would be trying to buy components produced in the very country which has armed Russia, and repeatedly threatened to invade Taiwan. Such an invasion would smash the global economy to smithereens.

And a Chinese mega-embassy will allow Beijing to flood London with hundreds more state employees to interfere and influence.

This seems unquestionable.

Embassies also provide diplomatic cover and secure communication lines, making it easier for China to consolidate its efforts.

So, rather than taking a tougher approach on an autocratic regime intent on reducing Britain’s influence and success, Keir Starmer has in essence given Xi Jinping a licence to increase operations in the UK.

That should gravely concern anyone concerned about democracy.