Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the urgent appeal submitted to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture on 12 September by the international legal team for British citizen Jimmy Lai; and what action they are taking to secure his release.

We are aware of the urgent appeal to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture with respect to British national Jimmy Lai and are deeply concerned by the allegations of torture and mistreatment it makes. The Foreign Secretary raised Jimmy Lai's case in his first meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the ASEAN Summit on 26 July and his case remains a priority for this Government. We will continue to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution and immediately release Jimmy Lai and we will continue to press for consular access.