The residents of Royal Mint Court have had enough.

A group of campaigners have filed a Judicial Review against the government's decision to grant China a new mega-embassy in the heart of London. They're backed by Lord Banner KC, one of the country's top planning experts, and supported by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.

The facts of this case are extraordinary.

Labour pushed through planning approval for the embassy before Keir Starmer's trip to Beijing. Not after. Before. China, according to reports, literally refused to engage on planning for the visit until formal approval was granted.

Read that again. A foreign government conditioned diplomatic engagement on getting what it wanted from our planning system. And our government said yes.

The Royal Mint Court site sits near the Tower of London. It would become one of the largest diplomatic compounds in the world — bigger than the current Chinese embassy in Washington.

Local residents raised security concerns. They raised heritage concerns. They raised concerns about surveillance, about the proximity to sensitive government sites, about the sheer scale of the development.

Labour overruled them all.

Official papers were filed at court yesterday. The legal challenge will focus on whether proper planning procedures were followed and whether national security considerations were adequately addressed.

This isn't nimbyism. This is a genuine question about whether the British government prioritised a foreign power's demands over the safety and wishes of its own citizens.

The journey through the courts will be long. But it's started. And the questions it raises about Labour's relationship with Beijing aren't going away.