Jack Straw has spoken out against "clear abuses of human rights" in Uzbekistan.

The foreign secretary said on Sunday that the Tashkent government should allow independent observers in to monitor the response to the popular uprising in the country.

Britain has gone further than the US is condemning its traditional ally over allegations that troops opened fire on their people as a peaceful protest turned bloody at the end of last week.

The Foreign Office estimates that hundreds are now dead as violence spread from the eastern town of Andijan to nearby Korasuv over the weekend.

But asked on the BBC on Sunday if the UK should support an opposition movement, Straw said: "It's for the people to decide on a change of regime, not outsiders."

However the Uzbek government reacted angrily to the criticism.

"From where has Jack Straw learned that law enforcement had 'opened fire on demonstrators' if that did not take place at all?" a statement said.

President Islam Karimov said 10 soldiers and "many more" protesters were killed in Andijan as a result of actions by Islamic extremists.

Shadow foreign secretary Liam Fox said: "The leadership of Uzbekistan should listen to the voice of the people before it is too late.

"Far better to embrace democratic reform now than face continuing unrest, bloodshed, or the creation of the conditions where a radical Islamic state may emerge. All western governments should be pressing the leadership to listen to reason."