PREVIEW

Protesters spilled across the pedestrian crossings on Tower Bridge Road holding signs that said "CCP is watching you, Stop the mega embassy" and "Space for free speech".

China wants to turn 20,000 sq metres of land at the historic Royal Mint Court into a ‘mega-embassy’ in the heart of the capital, right near the Tower of London.

If China builds its embassy on the site, which it bought in 2018, it would become the largest embassy in Europe - but it still hasn’t secured permission from the UK to go ahead.

The rally, organised by local residents and attended by groups of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Chinese dissidents and Hong Kongers, started on Saturday morning and quickly attracted thousands of protesters.