Why has Chinese delegation been banned from visiting Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin in UK Parliament?

The preparations for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral have already begun in the United Kingdom, with her coffin currently placed in the UK Parliament where people and dignitaries have been allowed to pay their respect to the queen for the last time.

On Friday, the British government banned a high-level Chinese government delegation from attending Queen Elizabeth's Lying-in-State at Westminster Hall within the Parliament complex before the funeral at Westminster Abbey, days ahead of her funeral on September 19.

Queen Elizabeth II has been placed in her specially-designed coffin, which is currently kept in the UK Parliament for a total of four days. Long queues have been thronging the area, with hundreds of guards deployed to maintain the law and order of the area.

Why was the Chinese delegation banned from Queen’s coffin?

House of Commons Speaker 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 in Xinjiang, ‘Politico’ and the BBC have reported.

While the House of Commons said it did not comment on security matters, the media reports claimed that China would have a presence at the funeral but not be allowed into the Parliament building.

Though the high-level delegation from China has been restricted from visiting the Queen’s Lying in State, the move is likely to further strain UK-China relations, which have been under some pressure in recent times, as per PTI reports.

In March last year, China sanctioned nine individuals and four organisations in the UK in retaliation after Britain imposed sanctions on Chinese officials for alleged human rights abuses in its Xinjiang province.

The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is set to take place on September 19, and prominent world leaders are expected to be in attendance. US President Joe Biden and Indian President Droupadi Murmu will be attending the funeral, while countries like Russia and Syria have not been invited.

(With PTI inputs)

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