Furious Tory backbenchers tore into Boris Johnson today for using ‘arcane games’ in parliaments to block their attempt to veto trade deals with nations accused of genocide.
The China hawks lashed out in the latest round of an ongoing battle within the Conservatives over how hard a line to take against Beijing over its treatment of the Uighurs.
They are demanding firm action from the Government over gross human rights abuses against the Muslim minority in the Xinjiang province.
Rebels including former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith are threatening to back a House of Lords amendment forcing ministers to withdraw from any free trade agreement with a country which the High Court rules is engaged in genocide.
Ministers want to overturn the measure in a Commons vote later today, arguing that trade deals should be a matter for the Government and Parliament rather than the courts.
They are backing a compromise amendment tabled by senior Conservative Sir Bob Neill, which seeks to give Parliament a say on deals involving countries with concerns of genocide.
But his proposal prevents a straight up and down vote on the Lords genocide amendment, instead seeking to disagree with that and one other and replace it with the compromise proposal.
It provoked a furious response, with Sir Bob accused of tabling the amendment as part of a plan to be made Attorney General when incumbent Suella Braverman goes on maternity leave.
Tory former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith accused the Government of deliberately blocking a vote on the Lords amendment on genocide.
He told the Commons: ‘I just want to say something about the procedure today – of course we wouldn’t be sitting here if it was not in order for these proceedings, but there are different ways to be in order.
‘And the reality of bundling together all of these things into one motion, an amendment put forward by the Government, means that of course there’s no way we will get to vote on the Lords amendment on genocide, I simply make that fact.
‘It reminds me, this little dispute’s a little bit like Handforth Parish Council and it’s always a good idea to read the standing orders. I read them and it told me what happened, the Government deliberately has blocked this.’
Sir Iain added: ‘I say to my honourable friends, I’ve been here long enough, and I simply say I think this is beneath them and I wish they had thought again and they don’t try this one again.’
Tory former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith called for a ‘straight vote’ on the amendment, saying: ‘The Government has run out of arguments and is now using arcane procedural games which demean our democracy and the House of Commons’
The Beijing government has been accused of widespread abuse in the area, home to the Muslim Uighurs, including allegations of forced sterilisation, slave labour and mass internment
Members of the Uighur minority group have reportedly been made to pick cotton in Xinjiang province, leading to concerns British consumers could inadvertently be buying tainted goods
Britain is refusing to follow the US’s lead and rule that the treatment of the Uighurs is genocide. Last month, 34 Tories rebelled to back the amendment amid reports of abuses, slashing Boris Johnson’s working Commons majority from more than 80 to just 11.
Conservative former minister Nusrat Ghani accused the Government of using ‘every tactic and trick in the book to prevent a vote on the New Genocide Amendment’.
‘The Government first says that genocide is a ‘judicial matter’ and then attempts to outlaw the courts from getting involved, and now they’re banning Parliament from playing a role and voting as well. Is this really how we want our country to behave in the face of genocide?’
Tory MP Bob Blackman said: ‘Last week we all remembered the atrocities of the Holocaust, vowed to learn the lessons of the past and all stood up to say ‘never again’ must we let this happen anywhere in the world.
‘Today was Parliament’s chance to make ‘never again’ a reality yet instead the Government has chosen to deny a clear majority of the House of Commons a chance to vote. Genocide is not a game and Global Britain should be above this political gamesmanship.’
Conservative Imran Ahmad Khan added: ‘I am disappointed by the cynical manipulation of procedure which seeks to deny the House the right to vote on an issue it clearly wishes to divide on.
‘We must not let this sort of game playing go unopposed. It is vital colleagues vote against the Neill amendment.’
It comes amid renewed international scrutiny of Beijing’s treatment of the Uighur minority population in China’s Xinjiang province.
When the Commons considered the amendment to the Trade Bill last month, the Government’s majority was cut to just 11 – with more than 30 Tory MPs voting to retain it.
That emboldened the Lords to defy the Government and to send it back to the Commons for a second time, in the hope that more Conservatives will be persuaded to back it.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Monday: ‘The Government shares the grave concerns about human rights abuses in Xinjiang behind Lord Alton’s amendment and understands the strength of feeling on this issue.
‘However, that amendment could embroil the courts in the formulation of trade policy and conduct of international relations and risks undermining the separation of powers.
‘The amendment put forward by the chair of the select committee, which the Government will be supporting, addresses the concerns raised by the parliamentarians to take a stand on credible reports of genocide by a prospective trade partner while ensuring a specific duty on government to act.’