Boris Johnson has narrowly won a vote to let the UK strike trade deals with countries that are committing genocide.

The prime minister failed to quell a substantial Tory rebellion over the issue – with 33 of his own backbenchers voting with Labour and other opposition parties.

But he managed by a slim margin to scrap the amendment to the Trade Bill added by the House of Lords, winning a division by 319 to 308.

The move is awkward timing for the government, coming hours after outgoing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China‘s treatment of Muslims and ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region constitutes genocide.