Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence
Debate between Seema Malhotra and John Whittingdale(1 month ago)
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Seema Malhotra
We take the UN working group’s opinion on Jimmy Lai incredibly seriously, which is why we continue to call for his immediate release. My hon. Friend will also know the work that we continue to do in relation to Jagtar Singh Johal.
Sir John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)
In December, I asked the Prime Minister to make it clear that his visit to Beijing could go ahead only if Jimmy Lai was released. He responded:
“It is important that we continue to engage, so that we can raise this issue”.—[Official Report, 17 December 2025; Vol. 777, c. 910.]
That clearly achieved nothing. Will the Minister also bear in mind the fact that, alongside Jimmy Lai, six other senior members of Apple Daily received lengthy prison sentences in what Reporters Sans Frontières has described as
“the complete collapse of press freedom in Hong Kong”?
What action will the Government take during the two-week period in which an appeal has to be lodged to ensure the release of not just Jimmy Lai but all of them?
Concessionary Television Licences
Debate between Seema Malhotra and John Whittingdale
Mr Whittingdale
I am, of course, aware of my hon. Friend’s views on this issue and it was partially as a result of his pressing that case that we commissioned the report by David Perry examining the consequences of decriminalisation. We will publish that report when we issue the Green Paper. It will form part of and inform the charter review process and we will take decisions in the light of that.
Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)
We should be proud of the BBC, which is respected and valued, not just in Britain, but across the world, for the quality of its output. What impact does the Secretary of State expect a £650 million bill—a fifth of the BBC’s budget—will have on the BBC’s ability to invest and to remain a world leader and a great advertisement for Britain across the world?
Mr Whittingdale
As the hon. Lady knows, my announcement today is the result of an agreement with the BBC. I am confident that the BBC will be able to continue to provide exactly the kind of world-class programming she has described within the new financial settlement.