The People's Republic of China has bought Royal Mint Court, a huge, prestigious site in central London. They want to open a new embassy there. It would be the largest foreign embassy site in all Europe by a large margin.

This must not happen. The UK government must deny consent for the embassy, and compulsorily purchase the site at the original purchase price for the UK taxpayer.

Their plans for development of the site include vast underground spaces with architectural details redacted "for security reasons". Even the UK government, which allowed the sale to go ahead, doesn't know the details or what these basements and tunnels will be used for.

China is openly hostile to the UK and the whole democratic West. It is a totalitarian one-party Communist regime that threatens to seize Taiwan; it is engaged in the genocide of the Uighurs; it is attempting to establish hegemony over vast areas of the South China Sea, threatening Philippine sovereignty; it is engaged in harsh and violent suppression of political opponents both at home and around the world; it aims to achieve total global domination and control in trade, including unsustainable exploitation of global natural resources; it is the world's biggest driver of catastrophic man-made climate change. They have threatened to carry out punitive actions, not excluding assassinations and kidnappings, against opponents, dissenters and critics. 

London is a hub for dissenting and opposition voices from China and Hong Kong. We have a responsibility to ensure their safety. This is in the UK's own interests, quite apart from the moral imperative to do so.

The 5.4 acre, 20,000 square metre Royal Mint Court site is in one of the most strategically important locations in central London, opposite the Tower of London and next to the City.

China has already set up an intimidating security cordon of its own around the site. It is shrouding its plans in secrecy.

• No-one in their right mind would think that China has benign intentions in building this embassy. 
• No-one in their right mind would think that the embassy will not be used for hostile espionage and activities against the UK and opposition voices from China.
• No-one in their right mind would think that the vast basements and tunnels beneath the proposed embassy will not be used for hostile and evil acts, probably including planning and equipping off-site acts of assassination and murder, sheltering Chinese "officials" who have executed criminal acts on UK soil, and kidnap, imprisonment and torture of dissenters.

China must not be allowed to go ahead with this plan. The UK government has to show some backbone and stand up for the UK's obvious interests. It must deny China consent to use the Royal Mint Court site for any purpose, and must exercise the right - using legislation of necessary - to compulsorily purchase the site for the UK taxpayer at its original purchase price by China, and seize control of the site if necessary.

We can not afford to allow an openly hostile state to operate in secrecy with impunity on such a huge, sensitive site in the heart of our capital!

Sign our petition now to demand that the UK government steps in to prevent this embassy from being built!