On Friday, British peers and Members of Parliament who recently had sanctions lifted by China pledged to continue highlighting human rights abuses perpetrated by Beijing.
Sir Keir Starmer announced that the travel bans and asset freezes imposed on these parliamentarians five years ago have been revoked. This change came after he engaged in discussions with Xi Jinping during his visit to Beijing.
This diplomatic development is expected to pave the way for the Chinese president’s potential visit to the UK for the G20 summit next year, eliminating a significant hurdle.
Nonetheless, the group—previously accused by Chinese authorities of spreading “malicious lies and disinformation” due to their vocal concerns about the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang—remains steadfast. They assert that this move will not silence their advocacy.
The group expressed disappointment that sanctions remain on non-parliamentarians and insisted on guarantees that the UK will maintain its sanctions against Chinese officials.
Members of the group, including Conservative MPs Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Tom Tugendhat, along with Labour peer Baroness Kennedy and crossbencher Lord Alton, stated: “We were not informed by the government prior to this decision being publicized, and we demand explicit assurances that UK sanctions against the four Chinese government officials accountable for genocide will continue to be enforced.”
‘It appears that sanctions have not been lifted on former MP Tim Loughton, nor on Essex Court Chambers, Sir Geoffrey Nice KC, the Uyghur Tribunal, the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, or Dr Joanne Smith Finley. We also remain unclear as to whether sanctions on our family members are still in force.
‘The selective lifting of sanctions solely on sitting parliamentarians is wrong. Parliament exists to represent and defend the people of the United Kingdom. Seeking or accepting preferential treatment for current MPs and Peers sends a damaging signal that some are more deserving of protection than others.’
Travel bans and asset freezes imposed on UK parliamentarian five years ago have ended after Sir Keir Starmer lobbied Xi Jinping during their talks in Beijing
The group included Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith (pictured) who has maintained that this decision will not silence their support for the Uyghurs
They added: ‘While British citizen Jimmy Lai remains imprisoned, and Uyghurs continue to suffer atrocity crimes, we take no comfort in this decision and will not be silenced.
‘We look forward to receiving urgent assurances from the government regarding those who were placed under sanction together with us, and take this opportunity to express our ongoing solidarity with the Uyghur people, whose cause we will not drop.’
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: ‘I think that this is something that they have done so that the Chinese president can have a visit to Parliament.
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if sanctions go back after that… we need to stop being naive and think that if we go on a visit and then they lift sanctions, everything is fine.’
And Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse, who was denied entry to Hong Kong last year but was not on the sanctions list, said: ‘I was never on an official sanction list, yet I was arbitrarily denied entry to Hong Kong when trying to meet my newborn grandson.
‘We need assurance from the Prime Minister that all parliamentarians can criticise the actions of the CCP without fear of retribution.’
The MPs and peers had been under sanctions since March 2021 after Beijing hit back in response to the UK adding four Chinese government officials to a list of targeted individuals over alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang.
The Prime Minister made the surprise announcement that the sanctions had been lifted in broadcast interviews on Friday, after he was asked how he could countenance the Chinese leader’s visit while MPs remain under sanctions.
Jimmy Lai, 78, has been detained since December 2020 and faces life in prison. In December 2025, he was convicted of colluding with foreign forces under the city’s controversial national security law
Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle had said President Xi would not be allowed the honour of giving a speech at Westminster while MPs remained sanctioned.
Sir Keir told GB News: ‘I know that the action taken in relation to our parliamentarians has been a real cause of concern, understandably so. And therefore I raised that issue whilst I was here, and the Chinese are absolutely clear in response, the restrictions no longer apply. President Xi said to me that that means all parliamentarians are welcome.
‘And I think that shows that if you engage, you can raise the difficult issues, the issues that my parliamentary college would have expected me to raise, and therefore I can be clear, the restrictions no longer apply.’
And he added: ‘In relation to President Xi coming to the UK. Obviously we’re hosting the G20 in 2027, China is a G20 country, and therefore I hope he’ll attend.’
In a separate interview with Channel 4 News, Sir Keir was told the lifting of sanctions was ‘fairly cosmetic’ as the MPs and peers would not travel to China and had also suffered intimidation.
He replied: ‘It’s a very important matter, we raised the issue as we’ve raised a number of sensitive issues.’
And he told Sky News that the result justified his decision to visit China, after he was accused of ‘kowtowing’ to President Xi and gaining little in return.
‘That’s something that couldn’t have happened if we weren’t here, having the leader-to-leader exchange. It doesn’t happen if you stick your head in the sand.’
The Chinese foreign ministry said: ‘The two sides agreed in principle to resume normal exchanges between the legislatures of the two countries.
‘China welcomes British parliamentarians who have the willingness to visit China more and experience the real China.’
Sources insisted there was no quid pro quo in the deal and that the UK has not lifted the sanctions it had imposed on Chinese officials at the same time.
