Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor the treatment of Jimmy Lai, currently imprisoned in Hong Kong; and what discussions they have had with the Hong Kong government regarding the fairness and integrity of Mr Lai’s trial.

As the Foreign Secretary made clear in the latest Six-monthly Report to Parliament, published on 19 September, Jimmy Lai and others are being deliberately targeted under the guise of national security to silence criticism. The Foreign Secretary has made clear our views and raised Mr Lai's case with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, most recently on 31 August. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific also raised Mr Lai's case with Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong, on 18 April. Senior officials have and will continue to raise cases such as Mr Lai's with the Hong Kong authorities. We continue to press for consular access to Mr Lai and diplomats at our Consulate-General in Hong Kong attend Mr Lai's court proceedings.