Tibet authorities said today they had arrested dozens of people involved in a wave of anti-Chinese violence that has swept the mountain region and prompted Beijing to pour in troops to crush further unrest.

There's a sort of bullfighting thing going on now on Wednesday afternoons.

As Tibetan protesters continued to rally and demonstrate against Chinese rule, a Foreign Office minister delivered Britain's strongest condemnation yet of Beijing's handling of the crisis.

Gordon Brown is now expected to meet the Dalai Lama when the Tibetan leader arrives in Britain in May, if the violence in Tibet has died down.

The Dalai Lama has rejected claims by the Chinese government that he orchestrated the demonstrations in Tibet and said he would stand down as head of the country's exiled government if the violence continued.

After days of street fighting and protests by Tibetans seeking independence, Chinese authorities have moved to clear Lhasa of the last independent witnesses ahead of a deadline for demonstrators to surrender. Beijing's governor in Tibet promised leniency to demonstrators prepared to give themselves up, but Tibet independence groups said scores of people had already been killed during the protests.

China is facing the biggest challenge to its rule over Tibet in two decades after clashes between angry demonstrators and police in Lhasa left four people dead and dozens more injured. Hundreds of protesters shouting "Free Tibet" yesterday took the place of Buddhist monks who had been marching peacefully over the past two days.

It has been decades since calls for greater independence in Tibet have been so vocal. Now acts of defiance against Chinese rule in the region are springing up all over the world.

Gordon Brown arrived in China last night on a visit designed to boost business links, but was accused of soft-pedalling over the world's concerns about human rights in the country.