MPs demand answers from China as Lib Dem MP on personal trip refused entry into Hong Kong

The former Rochdale councillor was detained, questioned and put on a flight back to the UK

Sir Ed Davey has joined the chorus of MPs demanding an explanation from the Chinese authorities after the MP for Bath was denied entry into Hong Kong.

Wera Hobhouse, a Liberal Democrat MP and former councillor for Norden in Rochdale, was travelling to Hong Kong on a personal trip to visit her son, PA reported.

He has lived and worked in the country since 2019 and has a three-month-old infant son, whom Hobhouse hoped to visit.

But she told the Times Newspaper that when she arrived at Hong Kong airport on Thursday, she was detained by security, questioned, and then put on a flight back to the UK without explanation.

Describing the decision as “cruel”, she added: “My son was waiting at the other end at arrivals. I couldn’t even see him and give him a hug and I hadn’t seen him in a year.”

“I hope the Foreign Secretary will recognise that this is an insult to all parliamentarians and seek answers from the Chinese ambassador.”

The news has provoked outrage among Ms Hobhouse's parliamentary colleagues, with leader of the party Sir Ed Davey calling it 'heartless' and 'totally unacceptable'.

And on Sunday (April 13) Davey wrote to foreign secretary David Lammy, asking him to summon the Chinese ambassador "to provide a full account" of the "appalling" treatment Hobhouse received.

Labour MP and Foreign Affairs Committee member Phil Brickell said: “I expect the Foreign Secretary to raise this at the highest levels as a matter of urgency.”

It is believed to be the first time a British MP has been refused entry to Hong Kong since the UK handed it back to China in 1997.

Ms Hobhouse is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), which is critical of Beijing's handling of human rights. She has previously spoken out against the Chinese government’s abuse of human rights in Tibet and crackdown on freedom of speech in Hong Kong.

China has previously banned several British MPs from entering the country, including Ipac members Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Nusrat Ghani, and former security minister Tom Tugendhat.

On Saturday, Mr Lammy had said he would raise the issue with the authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing, adding it was “deeply concerning to hear that an MP on a personal trip has been refused entry to Hong Kong”.

In a joint statement, other British MPs who are members of Ipac also urged the Government and Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to “take a very strong stand in addressing this affront to democratic principles and personal freedoms”.

They said: “Detained and deported without explanation, Hobhouse’s exclusion appears linked to her criticism of Beijing’s human rights record, and possibly her membership of this network.

“This incident, the first of its kind since Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong, coincides with UK ministers visiting China and Hong Kong to develop trade and investment links.

“That the Hong Kong authorities felt able to deny entry to a sitting parliamentarian while simultaneously hosting UK ministers is an insult to Parliament.

“That they appear to have done so because of an objection to something a UK MP has said in the legitimate exercise of her duties is a challenge to our core values as a nation.”

Mr Lammy added: “As I made clear earlier this week, it would be unacceptable for an MP to be denied entry for simply expressing their views as a parliamentarian.

“Unjustified restrictions on freedom of movement can only serve to further undermine Hong Kong’s international reputation.”