• By Tom Peterkin Telegraph Last Updated: 12:41PM BST 20/05/2008

The Dalai Lama arrives in Britain today amid controversy over Gordon Brown's failure to meet the exiled Tibetan leader in Downing Street.
 

The Dalai Lama arrives at Heathrow airport, London, to begin his eleven day visit to Britain

His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso will meet the Prime Minister during his 11-day visit but he will be received at Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, instead of Number 10.

Critics have attacked the decision claiming that the Dalai Lama had been downgraded from a political leader to a spiritual leader in response to pressure from the Chinese government.

On previous visits, Tony Blair and John Major had met the Dalai Lama in Downing Street.

Mr Brown was accused of kowtowing to the Chinese leadership by Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat vice-chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet.

The decision has been seen as a reflection of the sensitivities of the Chinese authorities at a time when Britain has been making strenuous efforts to court the Beijing government. The meeting has met with disapproval in China.

The parliamentary group's report condemned the Chinese for "serious and systematic abuse of human rights" in Tibet.

Mr Brown defended his decision to not hold the meeting at Number 10, saying it was not about where they met but about which issues regarding Tibet they discussed.

This afternoon the Dalai Lama will receive an honorary degree from London Metropolitan University.

Later during his trip the Dalai Lama, who has been publicising the plight of the Tibetans for 50 years, will take part in a hearing of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.