Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in the light of the urgent appeal to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture of 12 September regarding the detention conditions of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong.

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. I met with Sebastien Lai and Jimmy Lai's international legal team on Tuesday 8 October. 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.