Chinese envoy with a tough stance and Sinn Fein’s leader awarded prestigious seats at Coronation.

A row broke out yesterday after a Sinn Fein leader and a Chinese official overseeing crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong were invited to the coronation.

Michelle O’Neill, deputy president and leader of Northern Ireland’s Sinn Fein, was branded a hypocrite for saying she would attend. Her republican party has been accused of preventing Unionists from celebrating the historic event in Ulster.

And Tory China hawks led by former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith called it “outrageous” that Chinese Vice President Han Zheng is also on the king’s guest list.

Mr Han handled cases in Hong Kong on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party and proposed the controversial extradition bill, which sparked widespread protests in the area.

By contrast, Lady Pamela Hicks, a maid of honor to the late Queen whose father Lord Mountbatten was killed by the IRA – of which Mrs O’Neill’s party was the political wing during the Troubles – has been dropped from the coronation guest list.

Ms O’Neill, who attended the Queen’s funeral in September, said she accepted the invitation on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland “for whom the coronation is a hugely important occasion”.

But it sparked a backlash from Unionists, who said they were prevented from celebrating by nationalist-controlled councils in Ulster. DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said: ‘While the decision has been made by Sinn Fein to recognize the monarchy, nevertheless we need to see attendance at such events also translate into recognition that there are many in Northern Ireland who want to celebrate.

“But where Sinn Fein controls local governments, they are unwilling to support celebrations as they happen across the UK.”

DUP MP Sammy Wilson said Ms O’Neill’s presence was ‘in front of the international cameras’, adding: ‘But at the same time they are making sure they stay true to form here in Northern Ireland where there is no media coverage. spotlight are and true (Sinn Fein) local councils are simply continuing their anti-British, anti-royal stance to please their constituencies.”

Former Labor Secretary Baroness Hoey said: ‘My problem is that in many of the nationalist Sinn Fein-controlled councils in Northern Ireland, any form of support for the coronation, celebrations, street parties, whatever is in their areas.

“So it seems a bit hypocritical for her to eat and drink, colloquially.”

Mrs O’Neill’s attendance at the coronation at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6 May will be regarded as highly controversial.

She would be in line to become Northern Ireland’s prime minister if the current power-sharing deadlock in Stormont, caused by disagreements over the post-Brexit trade deals that govern the county, is resolved and devolution returns to Belfast. For that reason she will have been invited, on the advice of the government.

Sinn Fein Assembly speaker Alex Maskey, who spent two years in internment in the 1970s, has also accepted an invitation to the coronation. Sinn Fein was the political wing of the IRA, which killed Lord Mountbatten, King Charles’ mentor, in a bomb attack in 1979.

The decision to attend is the latest sign of much improved relations between the Republican movement and the monarchy since the start of the Northern Ireland peace process.

The presence of Mr Han, recently appointed as his deputy by Chinese President Xi Jinping, sparked a day after Foreign Minister James Cleverly called for a more constructive relationship with China, a day after the call for a more constructive relationship with China.

Sir Iain said: ‘This is the man responsible for destroying the international treaty, the Sino-British agreement, by which the Hong Kong authorities have prosecuted peaceful democracy campaigners. It’s outrageous that this man is here, given his role.’

Former Secretary of State Simon Clarke added: “China is a strategic opponent of the UK. She works to undermine democracies around the world, including on British soil.”

A Labor official said it was “disappointing” that someone “so deeply involved in Hong Kong’s ongoing human rights abuses” would attend the coronation. Hong Kong was rocked by demonstrations in 2019 and 2020 – when Mr Han headed the Central Leading Group on Hong Kong – following the introduction of extradition legislation.

The authorities were criticized for the crackdown on protesters, who were supported by Mr Han.

The decision to invite Ms O’Neill and Mr Han to the coronation was taken by the government and not Buckingham Palace. In contrast, Lady Pamela would have been a personal guest of the royal family. One of the King’s personal secretaries called Lady Pamela to apologize and explained that there was not enough room for everyone.