Here's why China delegation banned from viewing Queen Elizabeth's lying-in-state

By Team Newsable | First Published Sep 16, 2022, 5:50 PM IST

All heads of state visiting London for the funeral have been invited to attend the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall ahead of Monday's service. The House of Commons Speaker has refused permission for a high-level Chinese government delegation to attend the Queen’s Lying-in-State at Westminster Hall.

The United Kingdom has refused permission for a high-level Chinese government delegation to attend Queen Elizabeth II's lying-in-state at Westminster Hall within the Parliament complex before the funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19, according to UK media reports on Friday.

All heads of state visiting London for the funeral have been invited to attend the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall ahead of Monday's service and to sign the book of condolences at Lancaster House. But according to a report from the BBC, House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle turned down a request to let Chinese officials enter the Hall because of Chinese penalties on five MPs and two peers.

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The delegation is being accompanied by Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan. The decision of the Common Speaker has been made independently of the Palace. Sir Lindsay's office has refused to comment on his decision, saying it was a "security matter".

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Sir Lindsay Hoyle is said to have refused a request for access to Westminster Hall due to Chinese sanctions against five British members of Parliament and two peers for accusing Beijing of mistreating its Uighur Muslim minority, ‘Politico’ and BBC have reported.

This comes after the removal of China's ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguan, from the parliamentary estate last year over British accusations that Chinese authorities had restricted the rights of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang area.

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Sir Lindsay reportedly indicated at the time that it would not be "proper" to let the Chinese representative access to the estate while MPs were under embargo, according to The Independent. He further stated that the ambassador would continue to be barred as long as British MPs continued to face penalties. The Commons and Lords Speakers are in charge of Westminster Hall because it is a part of the legislative estate. The action is probably going to put even more strain on the recently strained UK-China ties.

(WIth PTI inputs)

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