The Foreign Secretary will raise the decision to refuse an MP entry to Hong Kong with Chinese authorities, describing the incident as “deeply concerning”.
Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse was denied entry to Hong Kong on Thursday after she had travelled to the territory to visit her son, who has lived there since 2019, and new grandson.
She is believed to be the first MP to be refused entry to the former British colony since it was handed back to China in 1997.
Ms Hobhouse, a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) which criticises Beijing’s handling of human rights, told The Times she had been given no explanation for being refused entry to Hong Kong.
Describing the decision as “cruel”, she added: “My son was waiting at the other end at arrivals. I couldn’t even see him and give him a hug and I hadn’t seen him in a year.”
Her parliamentary colleagues expressed outrage at the decision, with Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey saying it was “heartless” and “totally unacceptable”.
Party foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller said the decision was “truly shocking behaviour by the Hong Kong authorities” and called on Foreign Secretary David Lammy to meet Ms Hobhouse “and then call the Chinese ambassador for an explanation”.
Ms Hobhouse herself also called on the Foreign Secretary to raise the issue with China, describing the decision as a “cruel and upsetting blow” and “an insult to all parliamentarians”.
Mr Lammy said: “It is deeply concerning to hear that an MP on a personal trip has been refused entry to Hong Kong.
“We will urgently raise this with the authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing to demand an explanation.”
In addition to being a member of Ipac, Ms Hobhouse has previously spoken out against the Chinese government’s abuse of human rights in Tibet and crackdown on freedom of speech in Hong Kong.
China has previously banned several British MPs from entering the country, including Ipac members Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Nusrat Ghani, and former security minister Tom Tugendhat.
Mr Lammy added: “As I made clear earlier this week, it would be unacceptable for an MP to be denied entry for simply expressing their views as a Parliamentarian.
“Unjustified restrictions on freedom of movement can only serve to further undermine Hong Kong’s international reputation.”
A week earlier, Mr Lammy had criticised the Israeli government for refusing to allow Labour MPs Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang to enter the country due to comments they had made about the conflict in Gaza.
