It’s unfortunate for Sir Keir Starmer that the row about his leadership comes to a head just as Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong democratic activist, has been given a 20 year prison sentence by a Chinese-run court for alleged collusion with foreign powers. Given that he is 78 and in poor health, it will be something of a miracle if he survives until his release.
The Foreign Secretary, in her statement on his sentence, says that Sir Keir raised the case of Jimmy Lai, a British national, during his face to face meeting with President Xi. Well, that went well. We are not to know how strongly he pressed the case – and some of us would have liked to see permission for the Chinese mega embassy linked to his release – but he can’t have been that eloquent, since President Xi has simply ignored him. In fact, the contrast between poor Mr Lai, doing time for campaigning for free speech and democracy, and Sir Keir, a former human rights lawyer, could hardly be more painful. One is being punished for his principles; the other for … well, we know.
