A Chinese government delegation has been banned from attending the lying-in-state of Queen Elizabeth II, the BBC understands.
House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is understood to have refused a request for access to Westminster Hall over Chinese sanctions against five MPs and two peers.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said they had not seen a report about the ban, which first emerged on the Politico website.
“As a host, the UK is certainly familiar with diplomatic protocols and proper manners of receiving guests,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said.
Last year, China imposed travel bans and asset freezes on nine Britons – including seven parliamentarians – for accusing Beijing of mistreating Uighur Muslims.
That led to China’s ambassador to the UK being banned from Parliament – a move which has now been extended to a delegation that wanted to pay their respects at Queen Elizabeth’s lying-in-state.
UK-China relations are already strained and this ban is unlikely to help.
However, China’s vice-president is expected to attend Monday’s state funeral which will be held across the road from Parliament at Westminster Abbey. China’s President Xi Jinping is on the guest list for the state funeral but is not thought likely to attend.
British officials expect the country will instead be represented by Vice President Wang Qishan.
Queen Elizabeth will lie in state until her funeral on Monday.
Source-BBC
