'An insult to the Queen': Top Tories condemn China's funeral invitation

Senior Tory MPs protest the invitation of the China at The Queen's funeral, amid confusion over whether her prime minister Xi Jinping has been included on the guest list.

Tim Loughton - one of 7 sanctioned MPs and peers by Beijing for denouncing its "genocide" against Uyghur Muslims - called the decision "an insult to the memory and dignity of our queen".

"It is unbelievable that the government is considering invite Chinese government officials to attend such an important international occasion as the state funeral,” he told The Independent.

Iain Duncan Smith , the former Conservative leader ur, called the invitation “astonishing” and “re-projecting the curvature” – pointing out the Governments of Russia, Belarus and Myanmar are banned.

A letter was sent to the Speakers of the Commons and Lords demanding that Chinese representatives be barred from the Palace of Westminster, after Parliament voted to recognize the genocide.

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The Independent< /em> understands that the Queen will be denied access in state, to Westminster Hall, where her body will rest until the funeral across the road at Westminster Abbey on Monday.

Xi was personally invited to the funeral, although he was never supposed to attend. The Chinese leader is leaving his country this week for the first time since the Covid pandemic hit - to meet Vladimir Putin in Uzbekistan.

James Cleverly, the foreign minister, told a colleague that the invitation had only been extended to the Chinese ambassador - in what would have been a major diplomatic snub - but the Foreign Office said it was mistaken. criticism of its cruel treatment of Uighurs in the remote Xinjiang region.

It came in response to sanctions imposed by Britain, the United States, Canada and the European Union on Chinese officials held responsible for widespread human rights violations.

The action followed reports of one million people being held without trial and allegations of torture and rape in "re-education" camps in the province.

< p>The letter to the Speakers of Parliament, seen by The Independent and signed by Mr Loughton, Sir Iain and peers Helena Kennedy and David Alton, calls any access to Westminster "wholly inappropriate". p>

It reads: "Given that the UK Parliament has voted to recognize the genocide committed by the Chinese government against the Uyghur people, it is extraordinary that the architects of this genocide are being treated more favorably than countries that have been banned."

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