A UK Government minister has demanded answers from the Hong Kong authorities after Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse was barred from entering the Chinese region last week, calling the incident “deeply concerning” and potentially damaging to Hong Kong’s international standing.
Trade minister Douglas Alexander, currently on an official visit to China and Hong Kong, raised the matter directly with senior Chinese and Hong Kong officials, including the Chief Secretary for Administration, Eric Chan. He urged them to explain why a sitting British MP had been refused entry, particularly as she had travelled to visit her family, including her newly born grandson.
“It is deeply concerning that a UK MP was refused permission to enter Hong Kong,” said Mr Alexander. “Unjustified restrictions on the freedom of movement for UK citizens into Hong Kong only serve to further undermine Hong Kong’s international reputation and the important people-to-people connections between the UK and Hong Kong.”
Echoing the Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s position, Mr Alexander added: “It would be unacceptable for any MP to be denied entry for simply expressing their views.”
Ms Hobhouse, MP for Bath and a long-standing advocate for human rights, was detained upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport on Thursday. She was subsequently questioned and placed on a return flight to the UK, without being allowed to enter the territory.
Speaking after her return, Ms Hobhouse said she was “shocked and saddened” by the treatment she received, especially as her visit was for personal and family reasons. She suspects she may be on a “hidden blacklist” due to her role in the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a cross-party group that scrutinises Chinese policies and UK-China relations.
“There must be some sort of hidden blacklist,” she told LBC. “We want to know, and this is where me and the Foreign Office should really ask the ambassador and the Chinese authorities to give us an explanation.”
A spokesperson for Ms Hobhouse said she had cooperated fully with immigration officers and answered all questions asked of her. “Wera answered fully all the questions she was asked, and was compliant with officials through the whole ordeal. It’s concerning that the Chinese authorities are trying to cast doubt on her faithful account.”
The Hong Kong government declined to comment on individual cases, stating that immigration authorities reserve the right to question all arrivals and assess the purpose of their visits. “The person concerned knows best what he or she has done,” read a statement. “It will be unhelpful to the person’s case if the person refuses to answer questions put to him or her for that purpose.”
The claim was swiftly dismissed by the Liberal Democrats. Party leader Sir Ed Davey called for the Chinese ambassador to be summoned to provide a “clear and comprehensive account” of why Ms Hobhouse was denied entry.
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“These statements today from the Chinese authorities suggest that, despite ministers’ best efforts, no explanation for the appalling treatment of my colleague and friend Wera Hobhouse is going to be forthcoming. We cannot simply let this slide,” he said.
Ms Hobhouse, whose son has lived in Hong Kong since 2019, warned that the incident signals a need for greater scrutiny of the UK’s relationship with China. “China is not a strategic ally,” she said. “The CCP is not interested in mutual partnership — it is interested in expanding its influence.”
She called for a “UK-China audit” to assess risks to the UK’s strategic national interests and avoid “falling into the arms of false friends”.
With tensions between the UK and China continuing to simmer over issues ranging from trade to human rights, the barring of a British MP from Hong Kong will likely intensify calls for a reassessment of diplomatic relations.
