News items referring to the incident were either blacked out or replaced by other footage across China, it was claimed.

The Queen was filmed chatting during a garden party at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday about the delegation's "extraordinary" behaviour during a state visit by President Xi Jinping in October.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed that the Chinese state visit "got a bit stressful on both sides".

But, on Wednesday, the Chinese Embassy in London denied the visit had been problematic. A statement said: "President Xi Jinping's state visit to the UK last year was very successful. Both sides at the working level made great efforts towards the success of the visit."