The UK was wrong to accuse China of restricting free speech by taking legal action against Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper, China's UK embassy has said.

In a statement on its website, a spokesman for the embassy accused the UK foreign secretary of "gravely interfering" in domestic affairs by criticizing the measures.

Dominic Raab had said the closure of the site, which said it could no longer afford to operate after its assets were frozen, was "a chilling blow to freedom of expression in Hong Kong."

The authorities acted under the National Security Law.

"No one has extrajudicial privileges and no organization is beyond the reach of law. No right or freedom, including that of press, can cross the line of national security," the spokesman said.

Relations between China and the UK have worsened since UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosted a meeting of G7 countries that promised to put pressure on China over its policies in the Xinjiang region and Hong Kong.