A row has erupted over Chinese-made wristbands given out at the concert at Windsor Castle celebrating the coronation of King Charles III. The BBC, which organised the event, came under fire for buying the light-emitting wristbands because of China’s woeful human rights record and the ongoing Uyghur genocide.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the wristbands should not have been bought from a country “guilty of genocide and slave labour”.
He criticised BBC Studios for the decision and said they should have been bought from a British company.
A crowd of 20,000 revellers gathered at the castle the day after the coronation to watch acts including Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.
Concertgoers were given electronic wristbands which were used to mimic the effect of crowds at rock concerts sparking lighters.
But eyebrows were raised because the wristbands were manufactured in China – a country which MPs have said is guilty of committing genocide. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have been detained in mass internment camps in the Xinjiang province since 2017.
Sir Iain, a former Tory leader, told The Independent the BBC – which organised the concert – should have “gone elsewhere” to buy the wristbands.
And Labour MP Marie Rimmer said the coronation “would have been a perfect time” to show less dependence on China.
Sir Iain added: “I think they should go elsewhere to buy this stuff. China regularly uses slave labour and is a very dangerous country.
“The real issue is that they could have got them from another country other than China, but there is no law against them getting them from China.
“I would prefer that people stopped buying goods from China and found an alternative place to get them from. We are far too dependent on China and the state is using that money they make to build up their military and crush dissent at home.
“You should ask whether you want to support a country that is guilty of genocide and slave labour, or not?
“They would probably tell you there was not, but there was a British company they could have gone to. I would think the British company would have cost a bit more but it is time we started supporting products made by democratic states that believe in the concept of human rights.”
And Ms Rimmer said: “As a country we need to be less dependent on China. The coronation would have been a perfect time to symbolise this. There are huge atrocities being committed by the Chinese Communist Party on their own citizens that we must not turn a blind eye to.
“The Procurement Bill will soon be voted on in Parliament and it is the perfect opportunity to make sure that public money is not being spent on products that come from forced labour or other human rights abuses.”
A BBC Studios spokesperson said the company which made the wristbands, CrowdLed, uses independent labour standards audits for its manufacturing site. They added that they were satisfied no slave labour was used in the making of the wristbands.
The spokesperson said: “We considered other wristband providers, including a British company, who also manufacture in China. We chose CrowdLed, who work with several other high-profile businesses and brands, to supply the wristbands because they offered a solution in line with our sustainable aims.
‘‘In addition they demonstrated that they have robust practices in place where they monitor their supply chain and suppliers in line with BBC Studios’ strict ethical trading requirements. The wristbands used for the concert were refurbished in the UK and Europe – and will now be used again at future events.”
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
But the revelation is the latest China-related controversy around the coronation after senior Tories called the Chinese vice-president’s attendance an ‘‘outrage’’.
Han Zheng, who was recently appointed as president Xi Jinping’s deputy, represented China at the event.
Mr Han led Hong Kong affairs for Beijing between 2018 and March this year, during which time it imposed the national security law following mass protests in the city, stifling opposition and criminalising dissent.
Tim Loughton MP, a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said his presence was “an insult to the freedom-loving people” of Hong Kong.
