Quotes of the day 26th March 2021

 "Those of us who live free lives under the rule of law must speak for those who have no voice. If that brings the anger of China down upon me then I shall wear that as a badge of honour."

(Rt Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, former Conservative party leader)


"I view this as a direct assault on British democracy and an attempt to silence the British people who have chosen me to speak for them - if that isn't an assault on British sovereignty, I don't know what is."

(Tom Tugendhat MP, Chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee)


"The imposition of tit-for-tat sanctions is a crude attempt to silence criticism," and the "first duty of a parliamentarian is to use their voice on behalf of those whose voices have been silenced".

(Lord David Alton, Liberal Democrat peer and former MP)


IDS, Tom Tugendhat and Lord Alton are three of the nine British citizens and four UK organisations, who include five serving MPs, academics and lawyers against whom the PRC announced tit-for-tat sanctions today, after the UK and EU announced sanctions against the PRC for their human rights violations against the Uighur people.

This morning the Foreign Secretary condemned China’s decision to impose these sanctions on nine UK citizens.

Dominic Raab said,

"It speaks volumes that, while the UK joins the international community in sanctioning those responsible for human rights abuses, the Chinese government sanctions its critics."

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