Go-ahead for China's new London embassy

by Feng Gan

Royal Mint Court -- soon to be the new embassy

The Starmer government has approved the plan for a new Chinese embassy in London, a decision that has brought to an end years of delays driven by pressure from some US and UK politicians. Steve Reed, the Housing Secretary, announced on Tuesday that Beijing's application to build on the former Royal Mint site in east London has been approved. The decision comes at a sensitive time for Anglo-American relations, after Donald Trump threatened Britain and other European countries with tariffs for defending Greenland against his ambitions to take it over.

The process ending this week started in 2018 when China paid £255 million for the site of the Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London, on which to build a diplomatic complex that would be its biggest in Europe.
Ahead of the expected decision junior foreign minister Seema Malhotra had sought to reassure MPs on Monday of the involvement of Britain's security services in the process of the new embassy project. She said "resolutions" had been reached over concerns about public access to the embassy and the consolidation of China's diplomatic buildings across London into the single site.
he decision regarding the 20,000 square metre site at the historic Royal Mint Court had been delayed twice. The saga reflected a UK government that was "hot and cold on China", according to the Guardian, quoting Prof Kerry Brown, the director of the Lau China Institute at King's College London, "What was originally a relatively straightforward issue has become symbolically quite difficult," he said.
China, Prof Brown said "felt they had an understanding that they bought this £250 million place to use as an embassy … if there were going to be issues, they could have been told then".
The newspaper also cited voices from within the UK intelligence community, noting that while politicians eager to raise concerns about China's proposed "mega embassy" near the Tower of London, the espionage community quietly takes a different view, arguing that concerns about the development are exaggerated and misplaced.

Boycott Barclays now!

by New Worker correspondent

Palestine solidarity activists were out on the streets of Lewisham in south London last weekend  to demand Barclays stop financing Israel's genocide against Palestinians. Barclays bank provides £8.1 billion to companies supplying Israel with weapons used to kill Palestinians. 
Barclays also has an agreement with Israel to act as a “primary dealer” for its government bonds. This means Barclays helps Israel directly to raise money to fund its crimes against Palestinians.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is calling on all concerned people to boycott all Barclays services. In 2024 5,000 people closed their Barclays accounts as part of our mass account closure days. Barclays has acquired ownership of Tesco Bank. PSC are therefore calling on all Tesco Bank customers to shut their accounts, and join the next mass account closure day.
Palestine Solidarity is asking everyone who holds a Barclays account to pledge to close it on the next mass account closure day, Thursday 19th February 2026, to have the most impact. 

Stop Trump’s Wars!

by New Worker correspondent

Protesters gathered  outside Downing Street in London, condemning the US strikes on Venezuela on Saturday. This marked the fourth such action in London after the American raid on Caracas on 3rd January. One of the supporters of the mass picket in Whitehall, the British Chapter of the Anti Fascist International, said it stands in firm solidarity with Venezuela’s Bolivarian revolution and totally condemns “the complicity of imperialist Britain.The Labour government is an accomplice in this war. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has refused to condemn the US bombing and abduction, stating  he will ‘shed no tears’ and that ‘the UK has long supported a transition in Venezuela’.The former human rights lawyer was unable to answer whether or not Trump had broken international law. The Bank of England continues to hoard 31 tonnes of stolen Venezuelan gold in its coffers. The RAF, British bases and Ministry of Defence intelligence have aided in the seizure of Venezuelan linked oil tankers – this is imperialist piracy!
“This is not only a war on Venezuela, this is a war on Cuba, on Nicaragua, on Colombia, on Mexico on all progressive movements in Latin America and beyond. It is an attack on solidarity with Palestine, targeting the nations who have defied the Zionist genocide in Gaza. Labour’s refusal to condemn the US illegal action is not out of cowardice, but because they represent the interests of the British multinationals; Britain, like the USA, treats the whole of Latin America as a place to be robbed of its natural resources. This is also an attack on the ordinary people of the USA and Britain, who have far more in common with Venezuelan workers than they do with the ruling class of their nations. This is an attack on all who struggle to put people before profit, who fight for socialism, who fight to build a better world”.

Palestinian embassy opens in London

by New Worker correspondent

The Palestinian embassy in Britain officially opened on Monday  – a piece of  Palestine on British soil; a symbol of peace, dignity, steadfastness and the Palestinian people’s enduring pursuit of justice and freedom.The United Kingdom announced the recognition of the State of Palestine in September last year.The embassy, formerly the Palestinian mission in Britain, is located in the Hammersmith area of west London.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony the Palestinian Ambassador to Britain, Husam Zomlot, said the establishment of the embassy was a “historic moment” that  “marked a profound milestone” in British-Palestinian relations.

Free Maduro Now!

by New Worker correspondent

London comrades joined thousands of others in Whitehall to protest against the American raid on Caracas and the kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife. At the rally speakers denounced Trump’s blatant disregard for international law and called for the people of the world to stand together against this latest example of imperialist aggression. Speakers were also calling for Starmer to condemn these breaches of international law, but frankly that’s a long way away at the moment.
Starmer has refused to condemn the seizure of Maduro who has been taken to New York on trumped up charges that include drug-dealing and “narco-terrorism”. But former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who now heads the Independent Alliance bloc in the House of Commons, says “I am not alone in finding the UK government’s response utterly pathetic. The failure to stand up to the United States is not just symbolic. By refusing to stand up for international law, the UK has given the green light to the United States to act with impunity. Venezuela first. Who’s next? Is there anything the United States could do that would warrant condemnation from our government? Unfortunately, given that the UK and the US have spent the past two years enabling the genocide in Gaza together, I am not sure there is any point appealing to hypothetical limits of morality.
“As Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico, said this week, ‘The history of Latin America is clear and compelling: intervention has never brought democracy, never generated well-being, nor lasting stability. Only the people can build their own future, decide their path, exercise sovereignty over their natural resources, and freely define their form of government.’
“The story of US-led foreign interventions is a story of chaos, instability and misery. How many more of these catastrophic failures do we need before we learn the lesson?  And what will it take for the UK to finally defend a consistent, ethical foreign policy based on international law, sovereignty and peace?”.

DLR cleaners in sick pay protest

by New Worker correspondent

RMT cleaners on London’s Docklands Light Railway walked out on New Year’s Eve in a dispute over sick pay following earlier strike action in late November and early December. The cleaners work for the contractors Bidvest Noonan who have only been willing to discuss the limited possibility of one week’s full sick pay for certain serious or terminal diagnoses, which RMT has branded an insult to its members. 
 RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said “Bidvest Noonan have behaved appallingly and are continuing to fail in making any acceptable offer on company sick pay. Cleaning staff on the DLR do a vital job keeping London’s transport network safe, clean, and presentable. 
 “Transport for London, which oversees outsourcing contracts, must bring these services back in house, and pay workers proper sick pay, if we are to avoid these kinds of disruptions in 2026”.