A British member of parliament has been denied entry to Hong Kong, in what she has called the first incident of its kind since 1997.
Wera Hobhouse, the MP for Bath and a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), which has been critical of Beijing’s handling of human rights issues, said she was travelling to Hong Kong to visit her newborn grandson.
She told British media that she was detained and questioned at Hong Kong International Airport before being sent back to the UK without an explanation.
“I am the first MP to be refused entry on arrival to Hong Kong since 1997. Authorities gave me no explanation for this cruel and upsetting blow,” she said on social media on Saturday night.
The year marked Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty after British rule.
“I hope the foreign secretary will recognise this is an insult to all parliamentarians and seek answers from the Chinese ambassador,” Hobhouse said.
