MP barred from Hong Kong says it was to 'shut me up'

A Liberal Democrat MP barred from entering Hong Kong has told the BBC she believes it was to "shut me up and to silence me".

Wera Hobhouse flew to Hong Kong with her husband on Thursday to visit her son and newborn grandson. However she was detained at the airport, questioned and deported.

The MP for Bath, one of more than 40 parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) which is critical of Beijing's record on human rights, said she had been given no reason for being refused entry.

A Hong Kong government spokesperson said it was "the duty of [an] immigration officer to ask questions to ascertain that there is no doubt about the purpose of any visit", AFP reported.

According to the news agency, the spokesperson did not comment on the details of Hobhouse's case, but added: "It will be unhelpful to the person's case if the person refuses to answer questions put to him or her for that purpose."

A Lib Dem spokeswoman said: "Wera answered fully all the questions she was asked, and was compliant with officials through the whole ordeal.

"It's concerning that the Chinese authorities are trying to cast doubt on her faithful account."

Downing Street said Trade Minister Douglas Alexander, who is in Hong Kong to promote British exports, had relayed the government's "deep concern" about the incident with senior Chinese and Hong Kong interlocutors, including Hong Kong's chief secretary for administration.

A government spokesperson said Alexander had "demanded an explanation" to understand why Hobhouse was refused entry.

"Unjustified restrictions on the freedom of movement for UK citizens into Hong Kong only serves to further undermine Hong Kong's international reputation and the important people-people connections between the UK and Hong Kong," they said.

Speaking on the BBC's Newscast show on Sunday, Hobhouse said she wants "some answers", and said she was not very "outspoken about China".

She told Newscast she and her husband had been looking forward to visiting their son, who has lived in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, since 2019.

While her husband "got processed quite quickly" and was allowed entry, she was taken aside for questioning, held for five hours and then put on a return flight.

Asked by presenter Laura Kuenssberg what the authorities had said about why she was being detained, Hobhouse responded: "Nothing."

She added: "They said not to worry at first, just a few questions to answer."

In response to the suggestion it could be due to her involvement in Ipac, which scrutinises Beijing's human rights record, Hobhouse said she was not very "outspoken about China".

"I was only standing up for our values," she said.

"It would be terrible if China uses this now to intimidate me, to stop me from speaking out for human rights and liberty and democracy.

"That is the last thing that should happen, but that is, of course probably the intention, to shut me up and to silence me."

Hobhouse said she had had a huge amount of solidarity from "very worried" MPs.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has promised to "urgently" raise the issue with authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing and "demand an explanation".

He added it would be "unacceptable for an MP to be denied entry for simply expressing their views as a parliamentarian".

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has called for Lammy to summon the Chinese ambassador, adding the Chinese government cannot be allowed to "undermine our democracy by intimidating our parliamentarians."

"I want some answers," Hobhouse said, calling for Lammy to "reassure parliamentarians that this is not the way the Chinese communist party can treat [them]".

It comes a week after two Labour MPs were denied entry to Israel while on a trip to visit the occupied West Bank.

"It is very chilling that authoritarian countries can treat us in this way," said Hobhouse, adding the "diplomatic understanding" in which we allow politicians into each other's countries seemed to be "collapsing".

She has ruled out approaching the Chinese embassy for permission to enter Hong Kong, saying they will see their relatives elsewhere.

Asked about the timing of the incident in the week the UK government sought to take control of the Chinese-owned British Steel plant in Scunthorpe, Lincs, Hobhouse said she could only speculate.

She called for a "clear-eyed" approach to what China wants from Britain, saying "it's not just fluffy, friendly relationships".

"They want something from us. They use us and we must not be naïve about giving them access to too much, for example our critical national infrastructure."

The Chinese Embassy has been approached for comment.

Asked about the case during a regular press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said: "The Hong Kong SAR [special administrative region] government has stated its position on that.

"Let me stress that border entry is a matter within a country's sovereignty.

"The Hong Kong SAR government has the authority to handle individual cases of entry in accordance with relevant laws and policies."