British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly referred to as the incident “deeply disturbing”.

London:

Britain’s authorities on Monday condemned Chinese police after the BBC stated one in all its journalists was arrested and crushed whereas protecting Covid protests in Shanghai, the newest incident to check relations between the international locations.

Ed Lawrence, working in China as an accredited journalist, was detained for a number of hours, throughout which he was assaulted and kicked by police, in line with the UK broadcaster.

After his launch, Lawrence tweeted on Monday to thank his followers, including he believed “at least one local national was arrested after trying to stop the police from beating me”.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly referred to as the incident “deeply disturbing”.

“Media freedom and freedom to protest must be respected. No country is exempt,” he tweeted.

“Journalists must be able to do their job without intimidation.”

The arrest got here as new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ready to ship his first main speech on international coverage in a while Monday, through which he’ll argue the necessity to counter UK rivals “not with grand rhetoric but with robust pragmatism”.

Some critics took that to imply a softer line on international locations akin to China, whose diplomats in Manchester earned a comparatively delicate UK authorities rebuke after they lately attacked a Hong Kong democracy protester.

Security minister Tom Tugendhat stated Lawrence’s arrest was “an echo of the repression the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is attempting elsewhere”.

“China’s attempts at state repression here in the UK remind us of the urgent need to defend our own freedoms,” he stated, after experiences emerged of China working undeclared police outposts in international international locations together with Britain.

Hundreds of individuals took to the streets in China’s main cities on Sunday in a uncommon outpouring of public anger in opposition to the state over its zero-Covid coverage.

The BBC stated it was “extremely concerned”, after Lawrence was filmed being hauled away at one of many protests in Shanghai.

“We have had no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities, beyond a claim by the officials who later released him that they had arrested him for his own good in case he caught Covid from the crowd,” it stated.

“We do not consider this a credible explanation.”

China’s international ministry stated on Monday that Lawrence had not recognized himself as a journalist.

“Based on what we learned from relevant Shanghai authorities, he did not identify himself as a journalist and didn’t voluntarily present his press credentials,” international ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated.

He advised worldwide media to “follow Chinese laws and regulations while in China”.

But the marketing campaign group Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders) additionally condemned Lawrence’s arrest and alleged assault.

“RSF stands with all those practising fact-based journalism in China & calls on regime to respect their right to report on protests,” it tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)