British Foreign Secretary praises China

The British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, has spoken warmly of China's actions in Hong Kong during the six months since Britain handed the territory back to China.

Speaking to a parliamentary committee in London, he said the Chinese government had acted honourably in abiding by agreements reached before the handover.

But Mr Cook said that when he visited Beijing and Hong Kong later this month, he would raise British concerns about hundreds of political prisoners he said were being detained by China.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service