A scathing report on China’s human rights record by members of Britain’s governing Conservative party has taken aim at a relationship that party leaders have hailed as a “golden era” for both countries.

The open dissent on the pro-China policy pursued by George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer, comes as the Conservatives are being riven by the results of last week’s vote to take Britain out of the EU.

“It cannot be in Britain’s interest, or that of the wider world, to witness a lack of respect for human rights or the rule of law by any country with whom we seek to have a meaningful relationship, without challenging this when we become aware of it,” says the report. “In the relationship between the United Kingdom and China, we must make it clear that we are on the side of the people of China.”