A group of British MPs planning to visit Hong Kong this month have been banned by the Chinese government from entering the territory, amid continuing clashes on the streets between police and pro-democracy protesters.

Sir Richard Ottaway, chairman of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, will today seek an emergency debate after being told by Ni Jian, deputy Chinese ambassador, “that if we travel to Hong Kong we will be refused entry”.

The issue will be awkward for the government of David Cameron, UK prime minister, which has been muted in its public criticism of Beijing in recent months following protests in Hong Kong over China’s proposed democratic reform plans. Mr Cameron visited Beijing last year on a bridge-building exercise, saying he had no plans for further meetings with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader whose presence in Downing St in 2012 infuriated China’s leadership.