Like many I was deeply shocked by the images from Manchester of Chinese Consular officials attacking pro-democracy protestors from Hong Kong. Freedom of expression and peaceful protest are at the heart of our liberal democracy and protests outside embassies and diplomatic missions has become an accepted part of our culture, allowing both British citizens and foreign nationals here in the UK the chance to express their concerns at the actions of foreign governments.

We cannot and should not allow what happened in Manchester to happen again and I responded for Labour in the Urgent Parliamentary Question on Tuesday 18 October and emphasised the need for the British Government to protect Hong Kong people here in the UK, as Labour has consistently done.  Read my speech in Parliament here.

In my speech, I asked the Minister what steps he would take to ensure that the sanctity of our freedoms—specifically, the freedom of expression—is protected outside all foreign embassies and consulate grounds in the UK to avoid a repeat of this appalling incident.  As such, I was concerned to learn today that the Secretary of State and the Foreign Minister have delegated discussions with the Chinese Consulate to officials.   The Government should be dealing with this at the highest levels – not delegating to officials. Labour will continue pushing this.

On Thursday 20 October, I responded to a second Urgent Question on the issue, and you can read my full speech here.