A Kent MP has been banned from entering China after defending its citizens' human rights.

Tonbridge and Malling's Tom Tugendhat, who is also the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, was placed on a list with eight individuals, including Iain Duncan Smith, and organisations such as the China Research Group.

The decision was made by China after criticism over its treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.

On Monday, Britain, the US, Canada and the European Union slapped sanctions on Chinese officials deemed responsible for human rights abuses in the country’s north-west territory.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced a package of travel bans and asset freezes against four senior officials and the state-run Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Public Security Bureau (XPCC PSB).

Mr Raab described the abuse of Uighur Muslims as “one of the worst human rights crises of our time” and the international community “cannot simply look the other way”.

Hitting back at the government's decision, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement the move was “based on nothing but lies and disinformation, flagrantly breaches international law and basic norms governing international relations, grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs, and severely undermines China-UK relations”.

'China puts sanctions on individuals who defend the human rights of Chinese citizens.'

Mr Duncan Smith, Tory MP Neil O’Brien, Lord David Alton, Conservative MPs Tim Loughton and Nusrat Ghani, Labour’s Baroness Helena Kennedy, barrister Geoffrey Nice, Joanne Nicola Smith Finley, and Tom Tugendhat were the individuals sanctioned.

The groups were the China Research Group, the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, Uyghur Tribunal and Essex Court Chambers.

Reacting to the news, Mr Tugendhat tweeted: "Britain puts sanctions on individuals who violate the human rights of Chinese citizens.

"China puts sanctions on individuals who defend the human rights of Chinese citizens.

"The contrast is clear."

Mr Tugendhat has been approached for more information.

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