Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, Wera Hobhouse, has been denied entry to Hong Kong.
Wera Hobhouse flew to Hong Kong on Thursday to visit family and see her newborn grandson. Ms Hobhouse was detained at the airport, questioned and then deported.
Ms Hobhouse is connected to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) which criticises Beijing's handling of human rights.
Ms Hobhouse has criticised China in the past, posting her criticism to Twitter/X:
The cost of speaking up against China. Women who made allegations last month of rape and sexual abuse in Chinese detention camps have been harassed and smeared in the weeks since.
-- Wera Hobhouse, March 31, 2021
Some of her posts mention Hong Kong directly:
Further injustices going on in Hong Kong...
China does not have a fair judicial system. Protestors and pro democracy groups are not treated with dignity and we cannot turn a blind eye.
-- Wera Hobhouse, October 30, 2020
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey supported Ms Hobhouse with a post to X:
Wera just wanted to visit her son in Hong Kong and meet her baby grandson for the first time. But after a 13-hour flight, the Chinese authorities turned her away – just because she’s a British MP.
So heartless. And totally unacceptable.
-- Ed Davey, April 12, 2025
https://twitter.com/Wera_Hobhouse/status/1377175061036068869
https://twitter.com/Wera_Hobhouse/status/1322207249503342593
https://twitter.com/EdwardJDavey/status/1911119536067051961
