China condemns UK newspaper for Olympics 'insult'

China has said a British newspaper editorial comparing the Beijing Olympics to Hitler’s 1936 Games is an “insult to the Chinese people”.

In a statement issued late yesterday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang lashed out at The Sunday Times, which published an editorial by ex-Conservative Cabinet minister Michael Portillo, linking the two events.

In the statement, posted on the ministry’s website, Mr Qin said it was an insult to the Chinese people, and an insult to the people of every nation of the world.

In an editorial titled 'Tibet: The West Can Use The Olympics As A Weapon Against Beijing', Mr Portillo invoked Hitler's ambition to make the Berlin Games a "showcase for Nazism" in admonishing world leaders for ignoring Beijing's record on human rights.