Why case of jailed Briton Jimmy Lai is major sticking point for Keir Starmer’s relations with China
The UK government is facing increasing pressure to call on China to release jailed pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai as it seeks closer trading ties with Beijing.
Media tycoon Mr Lai is currently on trial in Hong Kong facing charges under the city’s national security law, imposed by Beijing in 2020 in response to mass pro-democracy protests.
Mr Lai’s imprisonment and trial have become a sticking point for the British government in their dealings with China.
Chinese foreign secretary Wang Yi met Mr Lammy, and Sir Keir Starmer briefly, in London on Thursday, and pressure was on the UK foreign secretary to raise Mr Lai’s situation and call for his release.
Why is Jimmy Lai a British issue?
The 77-year-old has lived in Hong Kong since he was 12 years old, after stowing away on a fishing boat from China and working as a child labourer in a garment factory.
He built up fashion empire Giordano and after becoming a democracy advocate following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, he set up a magazine in Hong Kong.
Ahead of the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from the UK to China, he started Chinese-language newspaper Apple Daily in an attempt to maintain freedom of speech.
Around the same time, in 1994, he became a full British citizen.
He has never held a Chinese or Hong Kong passport but because he was born in mainland China, Hong Kong authorities deem him to be a Chinese citizen.
Mr Lai has homes all over the world, including in London, Paris, Taipei and Kyoto. But his sole passport is British.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Hong Kong’s become a policed state’
Why is he in jail?
During the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, Mr Lai’s Apple Daily adopted the position of the protesters, criticising the government.
In June 2021, Apple Daily was raided by the police, who seized documents, froze its accounts and arrested its executives, leading to its closure.
Mr Lai was arrested and charged under the newly introduced national security law with collusion with foreign forces, as well as sedition under colonial-era laws.
Read more:
Son of Jimmy Lai calls for ‘urgent’ UK intervention
Calls for Starmer to condemn pro-democracy campaigner sentencing
More than 100 politicians slam China over Lai detention
Mr Lai during a protest in 2019
He was also charged with unauthorised assembly for attending the protests, and fraud for a lease violation, which he has denied and has been condemned by the US as spurious.
The media tycoon has been found guilty of various other charges, including attending a Tiananmen vigil, which has meant he has been in a high-security jail since December 2020.
What about his trial?
In December 2023, Mr Lai’s national security law trial, where he faces charges of collusion with foreign forces and conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications, started after years of delay.
After seven months, the court refused to dismiss the charges and adjourned the trial before Mr Lai could testify.
He was kept in solitary confinement and the trial resumed in November last year, when he first took to the stand.
Jimmy Lai pictured arriving at court on 12 December 2020: File pic: AP Photo/Kin Cheung
The media tycoon has now testified for more than 40 days, facing questioning about his editorial control over Apple Daily, links to activists in Hong Kong, the UK and US and meetings with US politicians.
In December, he told the trial he believed the UK had a “moral responsibility” to lead international support of Hong Kong, but denied requesting the UK government engaged in hostile activities against China and Hong Kong.
What has the British government done?
Boris Johnson
When Mr Lai was charged under the national security law in 2020, then prime minister Boris Johnson said the UK was “deeply concerned”.
This prompted the Chinese embassy in London to express “grave concern” about the “irresponsible remarks” which they said were an “act of interference”.
However, any pressure from the government appeared to drop after that for a few years.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘This is what Hong Kong is’
A lack of engagement
A handful of “China hawks” in parliament, including former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Tory foreign affairs committee chair Alicia Kearns, Lord Alton and Labour MP Catherine West, have consistently raised Mr Lai’s case in parliament.
Mr Lai’s son, Sebastien, and his father’s international legal team called several times for a meeting with Liz Truss and James Cleverly when they were foreign secretaries but that never happened, although they did meet with a foreign minister.
James Cleverly
Rhetoric then ratcheted up, with Mr Cleverly raising Mr Lai’s case directly with Chinese vice president Han Zheng as well as at the “highest levels with the Hong Kong authorities”.
Mr Cleverly accused Hong Kong in May 2023 of “deliberately targeting prominent pro-democracy figures, journalists and politicians in an effort to silence and discredit them”, adding: “Detained British dual national Jimmy Lai is one such figure.”
The then foreign secretary James Cleverly with China’s Vice President Han Zheng
Lord Cameron and Rishi Sunak
Lord Cameron, as foreign secretary, called for Mr Lai’s charges to be dropped at the end of 2023, and for his immediate release.
In a January 2024 letter to the last governor of Hong Kong, Lord Patten, Rishi Sunak called Mr Lai’s trial “politically motivated” and vowed to keep raising the case with Beijing as a priority.
However, Mr Sunak dodged questions about whether he had personally raised his case with the Chinese government.
Starmer government
With a change of government, Mr Lai’s family and supporters hoped there would be a more concerted effort.
Three months after winning the general election, Sir Keir said securing the release of Mr Lai was a “priority” for his government and said it would “continue” to raise the case with China.
Sebastien Lai welcomed his words but asked the PM to “put word to action to save my father’s life and bring him home”.
David Lammy and Wang Yi in Beijing. Pic: AP
Ahead of his first trip to China as foreign secretary in October, Mr Lammy was urged by MPs sanctioned by Beijing to raise the case of political prisoners in Hong Kong, including Mr Lai.
The Foreign Office said he pressed Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Mr Lai’s detention, and Mr Lammy said he “was able to have dialogue with the Chinese on areas where we disagree, areas like Hong Kong”.
Mr Lammy then joined Chancellor Rachel Reeves on a trip to revive economic ties after “years of tension”. She said she raised Mr Lai’s imprisonment with every minister she met in China.
During the latest meeting of Mr Lammy and Mr Yi, Number 10 said Sir Keir also met him briefly and told him he wants “consistent and respectful relations” and to deepen trade relations with China.
It did not say if he brought up Mr Lai, but the foreign secretary said ahead of the meeting: “We will also discuss issues where the UK and China do not always see eye to eye. In some cases, the UK does have significant concerns.”
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
Read more:
Sky’s Beth Rigby running marathon in honour of ‘dearest friend’
Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform
Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway