A duty free shop at Heathrow Airport has triggered outcry from China after apparently being caught discriminating against the country’s passengers.

Britain’s busiest airport was targeted by a wave of anger from Chinese Internet users and denounced by state-run media “We hope that this matter can be dealt with appropriately and that no similar case would occur in the future. over allegations that Chinese consumers were being singled out and “ripped off".

The accusations emerged after an employee at retailer World Duty Free alleged they had seen the store offer 20 per cent VIP discount vouchers to customers spending £79 or more, while telling passengers travelling to China they had to spend £1,000 to qualify.

The employee’s account was viewed millions of times and attracted angry comments after being posted on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo.

China's embassy in London also expressed "surprise and concern", saying it hoped “this matter can be dealt with appropriately and that no similar case would occur in the future".