Uzbekistan has canceled the planned visit by a British Foreign Office minister in response to his criticism on the Uzbek human rights record, a spokeswoman for the office said Tuesday.

"The trip has been canceled. It is the Uzbek government's decision in response to the minister's undertaking to continue to press over human rights," the spokeswoman said.

Bill Rammell, under-secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, had been due to visit Uzbekistan on Wednesday.

"The Uzbek government's decision comes in response to my undertaking to continue to press them about human rights," Rammell said in a statement.

"We have consistently made clear to the Uzbek government the extent of our concern regarding human rights in their country. It should have been no surprise that a discussion on human rights issues would have been an important objective of my visit," he said.

Last October, British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, was drawn back after he accused Britain of using information obtained under torture in Uzbekistan.

Source: Xinhua