PM ‘stands firmly’ with MPs and citizens sanctioned by China

THE Prime Minister says he “stands firmly” with MPs and other British citizens who have been slapped with Chinese sanctions for speaking out against “gross human rights violations” against the Uighur people.

China hit British institutions and MPs, including senior Tories Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Tom Tugendhat, with sanctions in response to similar moves by the UK over the treatment of people in Xinjiang. China retaliated after Britain, the US, Canada and the European Union on Monday placed sanctions on Chinese officials deemed responsible for human rights abuses in the country’s autonomous north-west territory.

Boris Johnson tweeted: “The MPs and other British citizens sanctioned by China today are performing a vital role shining a light on the gross human rights violations being perpetrated against Uighur Muslims.

“Freedom to speak out in opposition to abuse is fundamental and I stand firmly with them.”

The Chinese ambassador to the UK will be summoned, the Foreign Secretary confirmed, as he branded the retaliation a “sign of weakness”.

Dominic Raab told broadcasters Britain would “not be deterred from speaking up” against what he called “industrial-scale human rights abuses taking place in Xinjiang”. He called for China to allow UN human rights inspectors into Xinjiang to “verify the truth”. The Government has said survivor testimonies indicate that more than a million people have been detained without trial in the province, with widespread claims of torture, rape and sterilisations in the camps.