China has imposed sanctions on nine UK citizens - including five MPs - for spreading what it called "lies and disinformation" about the country. The group are among the most vocal critics of China in the UK. It comes in retaliation for measures taken by the UK government on Monday over human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority group, reports BBC also read: China sanctions Britons after EU move on Xinjiang Boris Johnson said those sanctioned were "shining a light" on "gross human rights violations". "Freedom to speak out in opposition to abuse is fundamental and I stand firmly with them," the prime minister said in a tweet. The foreign secretary said if Beijing wanted to "credibly rebut" the claims it should allow UN access to Xinjiang. Those targeted by China include former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, two peers, a lawyer and an academic. Sir Iain said he would wear the sanctions "as a badge of honour". The response by China follows similar sanctions imposed on the European Union, which was part of the co-ordinated action on Monday, along with the UK, the US and Canada. China has detained Uighurs at camps in the north-west region of Xinjiang, where allegations of torture, forced labour and sexual abuse have emerged. It has denied the allegations of abuse, claiming the camps are "re-education" facilities used to combat terrorism. Tory MPs Sir Iain, Nusrat Ghani and Tim Loughton, and peers Baroness Kennedy and Lord Alton, who are all members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China Tory MPs Tom Tugendhat and Neil O'Brien, who lead the China Research Group Also read: US, China wrap up testy 1st face-to-face talks under Biden Lawyer Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, chair of the Uighur Tribunal, which is investigating atrocities against the minority group Newcastle University academic Jo Smith Finley, whose research focuses on the Uighurs They will all be banned from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau, their property in China will be frozen and Chinese citizens and institutions will be prohibited from doing business with them. Sir Iain said: "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." Mr Tugendhat, who chairs the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, told the BBC: "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." He added that the government had been too soft on China, which he said had been "constantly and continuously seeking to intervene" in the internal matters of the UK. Ms Ghani told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the move was a "wake-up call" for democratic countries, that China would sanction law-makers who were just doing their job. She added: "I won't be intimidated. This has now made me even more determined to speak out about the Uighurs." Academic Dr Smith Finley tweeted: "I have no regrets for speaking out, and I will not be silenced." Lord Alton said: "The imposition of tit-for-tat sanctions is a crude attempt to silence criticism," adding that the "first duty of a parliamentarian is to use their voice on behalf of those whose voices have been silenced".

Abdullah Metseydi, a Uighur in Turkey, was readying for bed last month when he heard commotion, then pounding on the door. “Police! Open the door!”

Beijing has rejected Pope Francis's criticism of its treatment of the Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang.

China is once again mass testing an entire city for the coronavirus amid a regional outbreak in Xinjiang province, reports BBC.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab accused Beijing of “gross and egregious” human rights abuses against its Uighur population in China’s western province of Xinjiang.   In response, the Chinese ambassador to Britain warned that China will deliver a “resolute response” to any move by Britain to sanction officials over the alleged rights abuses, reports AP.   The comments were the latest signs of sharply increased tensions between the U.K. and China. Issues include China’s treatment of its Uighur minority and a new, sweeping national security law that China imposed on Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous territory that Britain handed over to China in 1997.   Britain’s recent decision to prohibit Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from being involved in the U.K.’s superfast 5G mobile network has further frayed bilateral relations.   Raab said Sunday that Britain’s government has reviewed its extradition arrangements with Hong Kong and that he plans to make a statement Monday in parliament on the topic.   Earlier this month, Australia suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to China’s imposition of security legislation on the semi-autonomous territory.   Critics see the new law as a further erosion of the rule of law and freedoms that Hong Kong was promised when it reverted to Chinese rule.   Raab added that while Britain wants good relations with China, it could not stand by amid reports of forced sterilization and mass education camps targeting the Uighur population in Xinjiang.   “It is clear that there are gross, egregious human rights abuses going on. We are working with our international partners on this. It is deeply, deeply troubling,” he told the BBC.   Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador, denied there were concentration camps in Xinjiang during an interview with the BBC and insisted there are “no so-called restriction of the population.” When confronted with drone footage that appeared to show Uighurs being blindfolded and led onto trains, Liu claimed there are many “fake accusations” against China.   Beijing was ready to respond in kind should Britain impose sanctions on Chinese officials, Liu added.   “If the U.K. goes that far to impose sanctions on any individuals in China, China will certainly make a resolute response to it,” he said. “You have seen what happened between China (and) the United States … I do not want to see this tit-for-tat between China-U.S. happen in China-U.K. relations.”   Liu also said Britain "should have its own independent foreign policy, rather than dance to the tune of the Americans like what happened to Huawei.”   The criticism echoed comments this week by a Chinese government spokeswoman who accused Britain of colluding with Washington to hurt Huawei and “discriminate, suppress and exclude Chinese companies.”