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LONDON, Dec 14 (Reuters) – China has removed six officials from Britain who wanted to question the treatment of a man who was kicked and punched during a protest outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester, British Foreign Minister James Chaturai said.
Cleverly said officials, including the consul general in Manchester, were removed, following a police request to interview them over the incident.
“I am disappointed that these individuals will not be interviewed or face justice,” Cleverly said in a written statement.
“However, it is right that those responsible for the shameful scenes in Manchester are no longer accredited consular staff in the UK – or will soon be.”
Police were investigating an alleged attack on a demonstrator who was beaten by several men after being dragged into the grounds of a consulate in north-west England during a demonstration against President Xi Jinping.
Chaturai, who summoned the Acting Ambassador over the incident, said, “Photographs taken on social media show that a number of persons were seen behaving in a completely unacceptable manner near the entrance of the consular premises.”
Cleverly said the police had requested the six Chinese officials to waive diplomatic immunity so they could be questioned and the embassy informed, giving them a week to act.
“In response to our request, the Chinese government has now removed those officials from the UK, including the Consul General,” Smart told broadcasters.
Greater Manchester Police said in a statement that it would continue to investigate the events surrounding the protest.
The chair of the British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Cairns, said the government should ban officials from ever returning to Britain.
The October protests took place on the first day of China’s ruling Communist Party’s two-decade congress in Beijing in which Xi won an unprecedented third term as leader.
Reported by Alastair Smout; Editing by Angus McSwan and Alex Richardson
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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