London | In an escalation of tensions with China, Britain on Monday (Tuesday AEST) suspended an extradition treaty with Hong Kong to protest a new security law that gives China sweeping powers and is seen by critics as endangering basic freedoms in the former British colony.

The move, announced in Parliament by Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, was prompted directly by fears that anyone extradited to Hong Kong from Britain could be sent on to mainland China with ease.