China lifts sanctions on six British MPs and peers, Starmer says

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said China has lifted sanctions on six British MPs and peers during his visit to Beijing. The targeted parliamentarians issued a statement saying they would rather remain under sanction than be used as a bargaining chip.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said China has lifted sanctions on six British MPs and peers following his talks in Beijing. His three-day visit is the first by a British prime minister since 2018 and was described as an attempt to thaw relations. Starmer said the UK's relationship with China was in a "good, strong place" after his meeting with President Xi at the Great Hall of the People. Critics have voiced concern about human rights and national security implications while some Conservatives accused the prime minister of excessive deference. Known details: - Starmer announced that China had lifted restrictions on six British parliamentarians during his visit to Beijing. - The targeted MPs and peers issued a joint statement saying they would "rather remain under sanction indefinitely than have our status used as a bargaining chip." - China originally imposed sanctions in 2021 on several members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China; those named in reporting include Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Nusrat Ghani, Tom Tugendhat, Neil O'Brien, Tim Loughton, Baroness Kennedy and Lord Alton. - Reported measures in 2021 included bans on entering China, Hong Kong and Macau, freezing of property in China, and prohibitions on Chinese citizens and institutions doing business with those individuals. - The UK has not lifted sanctions on any Chinese individuals, and it is not known from reporting whether restrictions on others sanctioned by China have been changed. - The Chinese government has denied allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, while other parties and organisations have accused China of serious abuses there. Summary: This development represents a reported diplomatic change announced by the prime minister and has drawn clear public disagreement from the affected parliamentarians. Undetermined at this time.