Labour warns of “serious holes” in visa offer for Hongkongers

Lisa Nandy has warned that there are “serious holes” in the offer of a visa for Hongkongers, saying that under current plans the UK “will essentially be offering safe harbour only to the rich and highly skilled”.

Responding to an update from Dominic Raab on the escalating dispute between China and the UK in parliament this afternoon, the Shadow Foreign Secretary raised concerns about the scheme.

She also welcomed the measures announced by Raab in his statement today, including the imposition of an arms embargo and suspension of the UK’s extradition treaty with Hong Kong.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary said: “There are serious holes in this offer… British national overseas (BNO) passport holders and their families will not receive home status for tuition fees, that they will not have access to most benefits, that they will have to pay the NHS surcharge.

“This seems to me to be wrong. We are welcoming BNO passport holders to the UK for similar reasons to refugees, but these measures are completely out of step… We will essentially be offering safe harbour only to the rich and highly skilled.”

She added: “He will also know that many young pro-democracy activists are too young to be eligible for BNO passports. The Home Secretary said last week that she was considering a specific scheme for 18-21 year olds. Will those details also be published before summer?”

The Foreign Secretary responded to the comments made by the Labour shadow cabinet member only to say that the visa scheme would be outlined “shortly”. He urged her “to wait for the detail before critiquing it”.

On the arms embargo, Nandy said: “He is right to ensure that Britain doesn’t allow our exports to be used against the people of Hong Kong. And can I thank him warmly for taking this step.”

She went on to ask that the minister to “go further and also review the training of the Hong Kong police by the Royal College of Policing and other UK police forces”.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary reiterated her call for the government to impose Magnitsky sanctions on Chinese officials involved in human rights abuses – both in Hong Kong and in relation to the treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province.

She said: “He was a little irritated by my suggestion yesterday that the UK ought to impose Magnitsky sanctions on Chinsese officials involved in persecuting the Uighur people and undermining basic freedoms in Hong Kong.”

The Foreign Secretary had responded to the proposal made by Nandy on Sunday, rejecting the idea and saying that the UK could not impose sanctions “willy nilly”.

Nandy reminded Raab that “we have known that the Uighur have been detained in camps since at least 2017”, and asked what work had been done with the US – who have already imposed such sanctions.

She added: “He may not have done the groundwork that would enable him to impose Magnitsky sanctions now, but the government does have the power right now to take action. He could, for example, bar Chinese Communist Party officials from the UK.”

Nandy also challenged Raab on Chinese investment in the UK: “He made a commitment today that the UK will not accept investment that compromises our national security.” She asked whether this would extend to Chinese involvement in Bradwell nuclear power project and Sizewell nuclear plant.

Labour has recently criticised the government for having “no clear strategy” on China, with the Shadow Foreign Secretary declaring that “national security has been an afterthought over the last decade”.

She last week described the government approach as a “nonsense”, highlighting involvement of China in infrastructure projects across the UK including in the nuclear power project in Bradwell.

Raab announced this afternoon that the government will extend to Hong Kong the arms embargo put in place for mainland China since 1999, and that it will be suspending the extradition treaty with Hong Kong ” indefinitely”.

He insisted that “we want a positive relationship with China”, but said that the UK “will protect our vital interests, we will stand up for our values and we will hold China to its international obligations”.