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'Extraordinary' to invite China to Queen's funeral, senior Tories say
The Chinese government's invitation to the Queen's funeral should be withdrawn, some MPs and peers say, according to the BBC
Senior Tory MPs Tim Loughton and Sir Iain Duncan Smith are among those who have written to the foreign secretary to express concern, it said.
They said it was "extraordinary" that the "architects" of genocide against the Uyghur minority had been invited.
The letter to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, which was first reported by Politico, was also signed by Crossbench peer Lord Alton and Labour peer Baroness Kennedy.
All the signatories have been sanctioned by China for their vocal criticism of the country, particularly over its treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority group.
China's President Xi Jinping is on the guest list for the state funeral but is not thought likely to attend.
On Wednesday (Sep 14), China's foreign ministry said Beijing was "considering sending a high-level delegation" to the funeral, although no more details have been provided.
The South China Morning Post has reported that Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan is expected to attend the funeral, citing diplomatic sources.
UK inviting North Korea to send envoy to Queen Elizabeth's funeral
The prime minister's official spokesman said it was for the Palace to set out the guest list and the convention was that countries with whom the UK has diplomatic relations were invited to send representatives.
Some 500 heads of state and foreign dignitaries, including US President Joe Biden, are expected to attend.
However, representatives from Russia and Belarus have not been invited because of the invasion of Ukraine, nor has anyone from Myanmar because of a breakdown in diplomatic relations following last year's military coup.
Representatives from Syria, Venezuela and Afghanistan are also not on the guest list, government sources have told the BBC, and North Korea, Iran and Nicaragua have only been invited to send ambassadors.
levantnews-BBC
