The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, is due to deliver a speech to business leaders in West Yorkshire as he begins a tour of the UK, according to BBC News.

He is expected to discuss business ethics at the Yorkshire International Business Convention in Leeds.

China had earlier threatened to pull its athletes out of their Leeds Olympic training camp because of the visit.

The speech is expected to go ahead but Leeds City Council has removed any association with the convention.

Tibet is governed as an autonomous region of China and Beijing claims a centuries-old sovereignty over the Himalayan region. But the allegiances of many Tibetans lie with the Dalai Lama, seen by his followers as a living god, but by China as a separatist threat.

The Dalai Lama is the latest high-profile guest at the Yorkshire International Business Convention. Previous speakers have included astronaut Neil Armstrong, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former US President Bill Clinton.