Scottish Labour MP says treatment of MP refused entry to Hong Kong was a 'disgrace'

A Scottish Labour MP has described the treatment of an MP refused entry to Honk Kong as a “disgrace”. Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse was turned away by the Chinese authorities last week, and had previously warned Britain risks getting too close to China. Ms Hobhouse was halted while trying to visit her baby grandson, with Bath MP held at passport control after a lengthy delay.

Now Blair McDougall, the MP for East Renfrewshire , has branded her treatment a “disgrace”. The Former Better Together chief told The Scotsman: “The treatment of Wera was a disgrace. “I am pleased to see an uncompromising response from the Foreign Secretary in defence of MPs rights to visit the city.



“Of course the bigger outrage is that the CCP have torn up the agreement they made to respect the democratic freedoms of Hong Hong. If they treat an MP this way, imagine how they are treating millions of Hong Kongers both at home and around the world, who refuse to give up on the rights they were guaranteed.” Earlier Ms Hobhouse expressed concerns about the potential existence of a “hidden blacklist”, which could secretly bar MPs from entering the former British territory after she was halted while trying to visit her baby grandson.

She is a member of the inter-parliamentary alliance on China (IPac), which scrutinises British and Chinese relations. Several MPs have already been publicly banned by the Chinese government . Ms Hobhouse said the UK risked “falling into the arms of false friends” as it seeks a closer relationship with the country.

She told LBC: “In the absence of any explanation all we can do is guess, there were some MPs who were barred from entry into Hong Kong a few years ago, so it was open, they knew that they couldn’t enter. “I turn up without any warning and being barred from entering Hong Kong was a real shock, and there must be some sort of hidden blacklist and this is of course why people want to get to the bottom of it. We want to know, and this is where me and the Foreign Office should really ask the ambassador and the Chinese authorities to give us an explanation.

” Ms Hobhouse was visiting her son, an academic who has lived in Hong Kong since 2019 and his newborn son. China has previously banned several British MPs from entering the country, including Ipac members Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Nusrat Ghani, and former security minister Tom Tugendhat. It is believed to be the first time a British MP has been refused entry to Hong Kong since the UK handed it back to China in 1997.

She added: “I’m not particularly a China critic, yes I’m on Ipac, but so are many others. Is any UK MP barred from entering Hong Kong because we are standing up for freedom and democracy and human rights? “I mean, where would we be if none of us can speak up for what our democracy is actually based on, and stand in solidarity with those people who live in countries where those values are somewhat shaky.”.