MPs have demanded an explanation from China after one of their colleagues was refused entry to Hong Kong, where she had hoped to visit her son and newborn grandson.
Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse told The Times newspaper she had arrived at Hong Kong airport on Thursday, where she was detained by security, questioned and then put on a flight back to the UK.
Ms Hobhouse, a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) that criticises Beijing’s handling of human rights, said she had been given no explanation for being refused entry to Hong Kong.
She had hoped to visit her son, who has worked there since 2019, and her three-month-old grandson.
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.”
Ms Hobhouse’s 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”.
Labour MP and Foreign Affairs Committee member Phil Brickell said: “That a British MP was barred from entry without any justification is unacceptable.
“I expect the Foreign Secretary to raise this at the highest levels as a matter of urgency.”
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.
Ms Hobhouse said: “I am the first MP to be refused entry on arrival to Hong Kong since 1997.
“Authorities gave me no explanation for this cruel and upsetting blow.
“I hope the Foreign Secretary will recognise that this is an insult to all parliamentarians and seek answers from the Chinese ambassador.”
