CAMPAIGNERS slammed the Foreign Secretary yesterday for failing to condemn the imprisonment of dozens of Turkish politicians ahead of the trials of two opposition leaders next week.

Labour MP Chris Williamson had asked Boris Johnson in a written question last week if he would “condemn the Turkish government for imprisoning almost 100 elected representatives and more than 5,000 activists from the Peoples’ Democratic Party [HDP].”

Replying yesterday the Foreign Office said: “​Following the failed coup in 2016 and the subsequent imposition of a state of emergency, we expect Turkey, as a modern democracy, to undertake any legal processes against elected representatives and activists fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law.

“It is important that legal measures under the state of emergency be proportionate, justified and in line with Turkey's democratic principles and its international human rights obligations.”

The response sparked anger from campaigners fighting for the release of jailed opposition figures in Turkey — many of whom are Kurdish.

Kurdistan Solidarity Campaign (KSC) co-secretary Rosa Gilbert told the Star: “The Foreign Secretary was asked simply and explicitly to condemn the mass incarceration of the HDP, which he chose to completely ignore.”

She warned that the government were “passively accepting” the increasingly authoritarian state by referring to Turkey as a “modern democracy” while it jails its opposition.

It has been more than a year since opposition MPs were arrested on trumped-up charges of terrorism in a series of raids across Turkey.

Many are still in prison on pre-trial detention with nine MPs, 85 mayors and an estimated 10,000 opposition activists behind bars at the time of writing.

Next week sees the trial of the two HDP leaders Figen Yuksekdag and Selahattin Demirtas in Ankara with both facing lengthy prison sentences.

Earlier this month the KSC launched a campaign in Parliament to “Free the HDP,” encouraging British MPs to twin with their Turkish counterparts.

Ms Gilbert also slammed the government for failing to raise its concerns over the state of emergency which has been in place since a failed coup attempt last year.

“This begs the question — does the government really understand what is going on in Turkey, or is it wilfully ignoring these gross human rights violations for the sake of international trade?”