March 26, 2025 – Today, in the British parliament, legislators discussed efforts to better protect British journalists like Jimmy Lai from arbitrary detention while working overseas and called for the UK government to confront Chinese Communist Party (CCP) repression.
Leading a debate on UK-China relations, Gregory Stafford MP urged fellow parliamentarians to support the ‘Jimmy Lai Bill’, introduced by Blair McDougall MP, which aims to legislate a right for British journalists detained overseas to receive consular assistance.
“I support the bill to legally enforce stronger consular protection for UK journalists detained abroad, and I hope that the government supports that as well,” Stafford said.
Gregory Stafford MP led a debate on UK – China relations that featured calls for the government to
do more to free Jimmy Lai and protect Hong Kongers from transnational repression.
The bill, so monikered because Jimmy Lai has endured more than 1,500 days in prison without a visit from a British official, is due for second reading on July 11.
Stafford also warned that the detention of Jimmy Lai and nearly 2,000 other political prisoners in Hong Kong over the last five years is a warning of the CCP’s intent to extend its repression beyond China’s borders.
Indeed, Stafford said a proposed new Chinese ‘super-embassy’ at Royal Mint Court in London, which will house 700 staff, “could become a hub for transnational repression and espionage putting at risk Hong Kongers, Tibetans, Uyghurs and Taiwanese individuals who sought refuge in the UK.”
Luke Taylor MP asked whether the government agrees it “must take every opportunity available to them, every visit, every meeting with Chinese authorities to raise the case of Jimmy Lai and demand that he’s released as soon as possible.”
Andrew Rosindell MP also called on the government to press Beijing on Jimmy Lai’s case while Calum Miller MP called for better protection of Hong Kongers like Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation staffer Chloe Cheung, “who in return for standing up for real democracy in Hong Kong” have been issued with HK$1 million bounties.
In response, Indo-Pacific Minister Catherine West said she continues to press the Chinese government on issues of concern, including “demanding Jimmy Lai’s immediate release,” as well as calling for the repeal of the National Security Law and the lifting of sanctions targeting UK parliamentarians.
Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation UK Director Mark Sabah said:
“These calls for a more forceful UK approach to dealing with the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong are right on the money. The time has come for the government to stick up for British nationals facing arbitrary detention overseas and Hong Kongers who settled in the UK but face transnational repression. Prime Minister Starmer must immediately demand a visit and the unconditional release of Jimmy Lai and fulfil a pre-election pledge to introduce the legal right for consular access for British citizens detained abroad.”
