Brown must pull out of Beijing Olympic ceremony - Clegg

4.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 4th Apr 2008

Ahead of the arrival of the Olympic torch in London this weekend, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has written to Gordon Brown urging him to pull out of the ceremony in the light of China's human rights record. He added that he did not believe the Prime Minister could attend the Beijing Games 'in good conscience', unless and until the Chinese Government took steps to 'honour the spirit of the Olympics' in its conduct from Tibet to Darfur.

Nick Clegg said in a letter to Gordon Brown "Serious concerns cannot be swept under the carpet for the sake of ceremonial duties. Unless and until China takes steps to honour the spirit of the Olympics, as laid out in the Olympic Charter, I do not believe that the British Prime Minister can attend the Beijing Games in good conscience. I am a great believer in the spirit of the Olympics as set out in the Charter. Indeed it is for the sake of those principles and for all those who are suffering as a result of China's actions that you must now through your own actions take a stand for human rights in China."