Sir Kier Starmer has been urged to secure the release of a British citizen who has been “arbitrarily detained" in Hong Kong.
A cross-party group of MPs have called for Starmer to bring Jimmy Lai, 78, back to the UK at the end of his China trip.
Mr Lai, a prominent pro-democracy advocate and founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, has been held for more than five years since his arrest in 2020.
He has enduring significant periods in solitary confinement.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, sent during his trip to China, a cross-party group of MPs said: “We hope one of the conditions of your visit is that you will be bringing Jimmy Lai home with you.”
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Arbitrary Detention and Hostage Affairs also said: “Following his conviction, which is unsound and politically motivated, if Jimmy remains arbitrarily detained by the Chinese Communist Party he is likely to receive a very lengthy custodial sentence, and possibly a life sentence.
“This will be a de facto death sentence for him given his age and declining health, exacerbated by his poor treatment. After being in solitary confinement for over 1,800 days, his health is rapidly deteriorating and his life is now at risk.”
Sir Keir’s trip to China has been focused on brokering closer economic relations with the east Asian trading giant after a fractious period of communications between Beijing and London during the last years of the previous Conservative government.
Negotiations have so far resulted in a 30-day visa-free deal for Britons travelling to China as well as an easing of tariffs on whisky exports.
But the APPG warned the “UK’s bilateral and trading relationship with China must not be advanced without any regard for the life of a British citizen imprisoned for his defence of democratic values”.
The group’s letter was signed by its chairwoman, the Tory shadow minister Alicia Kearns, as well as its vice chairs: Labour peer Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws, SNP MP Brendan O’Hara and Labour MP Tim Roca.
Sir Keir said he had a “respectful discussion” on Mr Lai’s detention, as well as the treatment of the Uighur minority, when he met Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Prime Minister said: “We raised those issues, as you would expect.
“Part of the rationale for engagement is to make sure that we can both seize the opportunities that are available, which is what we’ve done, but also have a mature discussion about issues that we disagree on.”
Swinney blasts Labour’s ‘betrayal’ as Waspi women again denied compensation
Starmer secures visa-free travel deal for Britons visiting China
After a terrifying fall, Red Panda retraces what went wrong and the support that carried her back
China deal will cut tariffs on Scotch whisky, Sir Keir Starmer says
Reform demands Badenoch apologises to Braverman over mental health claim
Scotland’s first-ever deputy first minister Jim Wallace dies aged 71
