Spying fears after ‘secret camera found in ceiling of building where China mega embassy application was worked on’

A SECRET camera has reportedly been found in the ceiling of a building where the Chinese mega embassy planning application was worked on. The discovery was made by security workers at the building which houses the Home Office and the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), sparking spying fears. The offices in Marsham Street in Victoria, London were used by officials while working on the controversial planning application of the new mega-embassy for China, reports The i Paper. A camera was allegedly found in a ceiling panel above a communal area used by civil servants within the last two months. The covert device has shocked staff and raised concerns that they were being watched and listened to. Security Services have been informed and inquiries are ongoing – but it’s not yet clear how the camera got there or how long it’s been there. read more in news The Sun has approached the MHCLG for comment. This disturbing find will renew espionage concerns in relation to the approved plans for China’s new super embassy in the capital, which has already proven unpopular with many. When construction plans for the Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London were given the green light by Housing Secretary Steve Reed in January, critics slammed the proposals as a security nightmare. The building was once home to Barclays Bank’s trading floor, so it is wired into City financial houses. Most read in The Sun This has sparked fears that Chinese snoopers could tap into fibre optic cables to filch sensitive information. There are worries that the 208-room complex will be used to carry out espionage activities – and even to detain dissidents now living in the UK. Mi5 director general Sir Ken McCallum warned in a joint letter with GCHQ’s director: “MI5 has over 100 years of experience managing national security risks associated with foreign diplomatic premises in London. “For the Royal Mint Court site, as with any foreign embassy on UK soil, it is not realistic to expect to be able wholly to eliminate each and every potential risk. “And even if this were a practicable goal, it would be irrational to drive ’embassy-generated risk’ down to zero when numerous other threat vectors are so central to the national security risks we face in the present era. “However, the collective work across UK intelligence agencies and HMG departments to formulate a package of national security mitigations for the site has been, in our view, expert, professional and proportionate.” Shadow National Security minister Alicia Kearns said that granting permission would hand China “a launchpad for economic warfare at the heart of the central nervous system of our critical national infrastructure”. But despite the security fears, Sir Keir Starmer gave the embassy the go-ahead before his visit to China in January.