Bring detained Jimmy Lai home with you, MPs tell Starmer amid China visit
Amid his three-day trip to Beijing and Shanghai, the Prime Minister has been told to raise the plight of Mr Lai, 78, who has been arbitrarily detained in Hong Kong
Sir Keir Starmer must bring detained British citizen Jimmy Lai (pictured in 2021) home with him from China, a cross-party group of MPs has said.
Picture:
Alamy
Sir Keir Starmer must bring detained British citizen Jimmy Lai home with him from China, a cross-party group of MPs has said. Amid his three-day trip to Beijing and Shanghai, the Prime Minister has been told to raise the plight of Mr Lai, 78, who has been arbitrarily detained in Hong Kong.British national Mr Lai is the founder of the now-defunct Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily and has been an influential figure in the territory's pro-democracy movement.He has been in detention for more than five years, much of that time in solitary confinement, having been arrested in 2020 under Hong Kong's new national security law.In a letter to the Prime Minister, sent during his trip to China, a cross-party group of MPs said: "We hope one of the conditions of your visit is that you will be bringing Jimmy Lai home with you."Read More: Caller Tom explains why he supports closer ties with ChinaRead More: What have Starmer and Xi agreed to in PM's visit to China?
Amid his three-day trip to Beijing and Shanghai, the Prime Minister has been told to raise the plight of Mr Lai, 78, who has been arbitrarily detained in Hong Kong.
Picture:
Getty
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Arbitrary Detention and Hostage Affairs also said: "Following his conviction, which is unsound and politically motivated, if Jimmy remains arbitrarily detained by the Chinese Communist Party he is likely to receive a very lengthy custodial sentence, and possibly a life sentence."This will be a de facto death sentence for him given his age and declining health, exacerbated by his poor treatment. After being in solitary confinement for over 1,800 days, his health is rapidly deteriorating and his life is now at risk."Sir Keir's trip to China has been focused on brokering closer economic relations with the east Asian trading giant after a fractious period of communications between Beijing and London during the last years of the previous Conservative government.Negotiations have so far resulted in a 30-day visa-free deal for Britons travelling to China as well as an easing of tariffs on whisky exports.But the APPG warned the "UK's bilateral and trading relationship with China must not be advanced without any regard for the life of a British citizen imprisoned for his defence of democratic values".The group's letter was signed by its chairwoman, the Tory shadow minister Alicia Kearns, as well as its vice chairs: Labour peer Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws, SNP MP Brendan O'Hara and Labour MP Tim Roca.Sir Keir said he had a "respectful discussion" on Mr Lai's detention, as well as the treatment of the Uighur minority, when he met Chinese President Xi Jinping.The Prime Minister said: "We raised those issues, as you would expect."Part of the rationale for engagement is to make sure that we can both seize the opportunities that are available, which is what we've done, but also have a mature discussion about issues that we disagree on."
