How could they even THINK about inviting China’s despotic leader Xi Jinping to The Queen’s funeral

What a colossal mistake it was to invite Chinese communist leaders to the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday.

Frankly, I am amazed that anyone could have accepted to offer a man like Xi Jinping – a shameless despot, future president for life and the heir to Chairman Mao himself – a seat alongside other world leaders to witness the most sacred royal event in Britain in at least a century.

Luckily he doesn’t come: rather hang out in Uzbekistan with that gangster warmonger Vladimir Putin.

However, the vice president of China, Wang Qishan, is said to be planning to attend.

He should now be told that he is no longer welcome. Britain’s relations with China are at an all-time low. The situation has deteriorated so much that in recent days a Chinese delegation has been barred from attending the Queen’s witness at Westminster Hall.

The Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, refused entry to this delegation after an argument over Chinese sanctions against two colleagues and five MPs, including myself.

I have often spoken out against China’s genocidal treatment of its Muslim Uyghur minority, more than a million of whom are buried in forced labor and “re-education camps” in the northwest. The women have been forcibly sterilized in what a recent independent investigation by Sir Geoffrey Nice KC called a crime against humanity.

Therefore, I and my fellow sanctioned MPs – as well as our families – cannot now risk traveling to a country that has an extradition treaty with China for fear of being sucked into China’s criminal justice system.

Parliament can of course make its own choices, but Westminster Abbey is not part of the parliamentary estate. As a result, we learned on Wednesday that, despite the completely justified refusal of the Chinese delegation’s admission to dedicate the state, some of the senior ghosts of the Beijing Communist Party had been given the chance to attend the funeral. in the abbey.

I have often spoken out against China’s genocidal treatment of its Muslim Uyghur minority, more than a million of whom are buried in forced labor and “re-education camps” in the northwest. The women have been forcibly sterilized in what a recent independent investigation by Sir Geoffrey Nice KC called a crime against humanity. In the photo: Putin and Xi Jinping together today

The case against allowing China a place in this historic event hardly needs explanation. But due to the methodical dismantling of democracy in Hong Kong, the relentless attack on the human rights of Chinese citizens and the invasion threats against the free people of Taiwan, Beijing has forfeited any seat at the table of civilized nations.

To make matters worse, we can add the extraordinary irony that the regime has persecuted Christians and destroyed churches all over China. Some of these buildings have been destroyed, the interiors have been looted, while others have been closed.

The increasingly dictatorial Xi reportedly prefers that paintings and icons of Jesus Christ be replaced with portraits of himself.

The Christian communities in China have also been questioned by the state and subject to intrusive surveillance.

We have learned the hard way in the past that appeasement of dictatorial regimes does not work. In the photo: Putin and Xi Jinping yesterday

How dare the representatives of this anti-Christian regime have the nerve to sit in one of the Church of England’s holiest sites – and pay lip service to the memory of our beloved late monarch?

Now there are some who will insist that a funeral, however grandiose, is not the place for geopolitics – an event where the differences between countries can be brushed aside. I understand that view. But the truth is that Britain is standing up to regimes whose values ​​are completely at odds with our own.

We have learned the hard way in the past that appeasement of dictatorial regimes does not work. We must make it clear that persecuting your citizens at home and threatening others abroad cannot be tolerated. With the eyes of the world on London next week, it’s time for us to do the right thing.