On 10th April 2025 Wera and her husband William flew to Hong Kong for the first time to visit their son, daughter in law and 3-month old grandson for a private visit.
Wera is the first British Member of Parliament to be refused entry to Hong Kong since the 1997 handover of Hong Kong.
What happened when Wera arrived in Hong Kong?
As told to, and reported by LBC :
“We were standing in these passport check rows, and everybody was processed very quickly,” the MP said. “And then I stepped forward and as soon as the officials saw my passport, there was a delay then I was asked to step aside. My husband was also processed very quickly. Like everybody else, he was given his visa. Fortunately, he then didn’t go through to baggage control, but he stayed with me otherwise I wouldn’t have seen him again, at least not for the ten days.”
The politician was then held for a “long time” by officials, who interviewed her and “carefully searched” her luggage.
She continued: “At the end of those three hours, my husband was allowed to go through, but he decided to stay with me.
“But I was told no, I couldn’t. I couldn’t come in. And that was a shock. I thought I might be interviewed, but after a few questions, they would let me through. Once the ‘no’ came, I was saying ‘what? Why? I only want to see my grandson. Can somebody explain this to me? Can I talk to the person who made the decision?’ But they had this very automatic reply again and again. They said: ‘we are so sorry. We understand’.”
As journalists looked for explanations as to why Wera was the first parliamentarian to be refused entry to Hong Kong since 1997, Parliament had been recalled for emergency legislation to keep British Steel in business1. British Steel until that point had been Chinese owned and parliamentarians had concerns that the interests of the Chinese Communist Party did not align with the UK’s strategic interests for steel production at Scunthorpe.
The BBC wanted to ask whether Wera’s membership of IPAC, the Inter Parliamentary Alliance on China, was a reason for her refusal.
When asked on BBC Newcast whether 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.”
Questions for the Government
Sir Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader wrote to David Lammy, the foreign secretary, asking him to “urgently” meet Hobhouse and summon the Chinese ambassador in London “to provide a full account of why a British MP and her family have been treated in such an appalling way”. He added:
“The UK cannot allow the Chinese government to attempt to undermine our democracy by intimidating our parliamentarians.”1
Sir Ed Davey
The Government Response:
“During his visit to mainland China and Hong Kong Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security the Rt Hon Douglas Alexander relayed our immediate and deep concern regarding MP Wera Hobhouse denial of entry into Hong Kong. Minister Alexander raised our concerns and demanded an explanation with senior Chinese and Hong Kong interlocutors including Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary for Administration, to understand why the Hong Kong authorities refused access to a British MP.
It is deeply concerning that a UK MP was refused permission to enter Hong Kong last week. 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.
As the Foreign Secretary has made clear, and Minister Alexander relayed in person, it would be unacceptable for any MP to be denied entry for simply expressing their views.” 2
National and International Coverage
The refusal of entry came at a time when President Trump was putting tariffs on goods from all countries, including punitive tariffs on China. Journalists across the world saw the story as having a wider relevance for assessing how individual countries should interact and trade with China.
The Financial Times wrote that ‘The incident comes as the Labour government is seeking to forge closer ties with China. UK chancellor Rachel Reeves and foreign secretary David Lammy have travelled to Beijing in recent months and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi was in London in February. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to visit China this year.’
The Sunday Times, which first broke the story, wrote: ‘Hobhouse’s treatment is likely to enrage MPs and reignite questions about Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to foster closer ties with China’.
Politico reported that ‘China has been cracking down on civil liberties in Hong Kong since 2019, leading to a deterioration in relations with the U.K. and other European countries.’
Reuters reported that ‘Hobhouse has previously criticised China’s ruling Communist Party for restricting civil liberties in Hong Kong, and over human rights abuses in the Chinese regions of Xinjiang and Tibet and its approach to Taiwan and the South China Sea.’
Germany’s Spiegel reported that Hobhouse had not received an explanation for the refusal of entry and also that she is one of 40 parliamentarian members of IPAC.
CNN interviewed Wera Hobhouse on why she might have been refused entry; a possible hidden blacklist: the need for answers from the Hong Kong authorities and caution on UK-China strategic cooperation in the years ahead.
MPs, Peers and Public Figures banned from entering China in 2021
In March 2021, 9 people were banned from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau. Chinese citizens and institutions will be prohibited from doing business with them.
- Tory MPs Sir Iain Duncan-Smith (Con), Nusrat Ghani (Con), Neil O’Brien (Con) and Tom Tugendhat (Con).
- Tim Loughton, who retired as MP in 2024.
- Baroness Kennedy (Lab) and Lord Alton (Crossbencher)
- Sir Geoffrey Nice KC
- Dr Jo Smith Finley, Reader in Chinese Studies, Newcastle University
In his 2021 response to the ban, Mr Tugendhat told the BBC: “I view this as a direct assault on British democracy and an attempt to silence the British people who have chosen me to speak for them.” He added that the government had been too soft on China, which he said had been “constantly and continuously seeking to intervene” in the internal matters of the UK.
Also in March 2021, Ms Ghani told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the move was a “wake-up call” for democratic countries, that China would sanction law-makers who were just doing their job.3
Pressure in Parliament
On 24th April 2025 during Business Questions, Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman spoke of the ban having ‘far-reaching and concerning implications:
“To be clear, my hon. Friend had not been made aware that she would not be welcome in Hong Kong, and it was a purely private visit. The Liberal Democrats are concerned that this could have a chilling effect on all parliamentarians who speak up for freedom and democracy.
We cannot and must not accept our democracy being undermined by allowing the intimidation of UK parliamentarians. Will the Leader of the House ask the Foreign Secretary to make a statement on how the Government intend to engage in a clear-eyed manner with authoritarian countries that appear to be creating hidden blacklists of British parliamentarians.”
The Leader of the House, Lucy Powell responded that she:
“is right to say that it is unacceptable for a Member of Parliament to be denied entry to another country simply for being a Member of Parliament, albeit on a private visit in this case. The Government have relayed our deep concerns over this incident to the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities, and we will continue to press these issues with them over the coming months. She is right to say that our democracy and our ability as Members of Parliament to speak freely in this place, and to not have that jeopardised when we travel abroad, is fundamental to what the House of Commons is all about.”
Moving forward
The election of Donald Trump has highlighted the new difficulties of dealing with our American allies. The UK is therefore looking to strengthen other global strategic partnerships.. The existence of bans and blacklists of UK lawmakers visiting China casts doubt over whether the two countries have mutual trust or interests.
The removal of blacklists and bans on British MPs could be a confidence building measure for UK – China relations.
References
- Yorke, Harry. “MP Refused Entry to Hong Kong on Visit to See Newborn Grandson.” Thetimes.com, The Sunday Times, 12 Apr. 2025. Accessed 6 May 2025.
- Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and Department for Business and Trade. “UK Government Statement on Denial of UK MP to Enter Hong Kong.” GOV.UK, 14 Apr. 2025www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-statement-on-denial-of-uk-mp-to-enter-hong-kong. Accessed 6 May 2025.
- BBC. “Uighurs: China Bans UK MPs after Abuse Sanctions.” BBC News, 26 Mar. 2021.
