The UK's colonial past has left it with a "toxic" legacy including systemic racism, problems with hate speech and xenophobia which even lead to violence, the United Nations Human Rights Council has heard.

In a statement delivered on behalf of nine countries, the British government was accused of seeking to interfere in the affairs of others while failing to protect human rights on its own soil.

The statement points to measures initiated by the administration of prime minister Boris Johnson including:

* A commission on racial equality that was widely criticised for finding that the UK did not suffer from systemic racism

* Legislation aimed at making prosecutions of British soldiers for war crimes more difficult

* Tougher rules regarding asylum seekers who are sometimes held in conditions that judges have ruled unacceptable

"We urge the UK government to face up to its human rights problems, immediately stop all human rights violations, address the root cause of racial discrimination and hate crime, and carry out thorough and impartial investigations into cases of unlawful killings of civilians and other crimes, bring the perpetrators to justice and provide victims with remedy," the nine nations said.

The countries putting their names to the statement were China, the DPRK, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Sri Lanka, Russia, Belarus and Bolivia. Seven of the nations have recently been the subject of sanctions backed by the UK.