A Liberal Democrat MP has been denied entry to Hong Kong where she was due to visit her newborn grandson. Wera Hobhouse landed at Hong Kong airport on Thursday, April 10, 2025, after a 13-hour flight - only to be detained by security, questioned, and put on a return flight to the UK, she told The Sunday Times. She had been due to visit her three-month-old grandson and described Chinese authorities' actions as a "cruel and upsetting blow". "My son was waiting at the other end at arrivals. I couldn't even see him and give him a hug and I hadn't seen him in a year," she told the newspaper. Ms Hobhouse is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) and has spoken out against Beijing's alleged human rights violations in both Hong Kong and Tibet. China has previously banned other Ipac members, including Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Nusrat Ghani, as well as former security minister Tom Tugendhat.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has called on the foreign secretary to summon the Chinese ambassador in the wake of the decision, which he described as "heartless" and "totally unacceptable". In a letter to David Lammy, he asked the minister to uncover "why a British MP and her family have been treated in such an appalling way". "We are sure you will agree that this is a deeply concerning situation," Sir Ed said. "The UK cannot allow the Chinese government to attempt to undermine our democracy by intimidating our parliamentarians." Mr Lammy previously described Ms Hobhouse's experience as "deeply concerning" and said he would "urgently raise" the issues with authorities in both Hong Kong and Beijing to "demand an explanation". "It is deeply concerning to hear that an MP on a personal trip has been refused entry to Hong Kong," he said. "As I made clear earlier this week, it would be unacceptable for an MP to be denied entry for simply expressing their views as a Parliamentarian."
It comes after two Labour MPs were denied entry to Israel last week. Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed were suspected of planning to "document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israeli hatred", according to the country's immigration ministry. Ms Hobhouse claimed she is the "first MP to be refused entry on arrival to Hong Kong since 1997." Sir Ed Davey has called on the Foreign Secretary to summon the Chinese ambassador and demand an explanation after a Liberal Democrat MP was refused entry to Hong Kong. Bath MP Wera Hobhouse had travelled to Hong Kong on Thursday to visit her son, who has lived there since 2019, and her new grandson. But she was detained at the airport, questioned and then put on a flight back to the UK. It is believed to be the first time a British MP has been refused entry to Hong Kong since the UK handed it back to China in 1997.
Writing to David Lammy on Sunday, Sir Ed asked the Foreign Secretary to "meet urgently with Wera to discuss her case, and summon the Chinese ambassador to provide a full account of why a British MP and her family have been treated in such an appalling way". Ms Hobhouse, a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) which criticises Beijing’s handling of human rights, told The Times she had been given no explanation for being refused entry to Hong Kong. Describing the decision as "cruel", she added: "My son was waiting at the other end at arrivals. I couldn’t even see him and give him a hug and I hadn’t seen him in a year." On Saturday, April 12, 2025, Mr Lammy had said he would raise the issue with the authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing, adding it was "deeply concerning to hear that an MP on a personal trip has been refused entry to Hong Kong".
In a joint statement, other British MPs who are members of Ipac also urged the Government and Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to "take a very strong stand in addressing this affront to democratic principles and personal freedoms". They said: "Detained and deported without explanation, Hobhouse’s exclusion appears linked to her criticism of Beijing’s human rights record, and possibly her membership of this network. This incident, the first of its kind since Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong, coincides with UK ministers visiting China and Hong Kong to develop trade and investment links. That the Hong Kong authorities felt able to deny entry to a sitting parliamentarian while simultaneously hosting UK ministers is an insult to Parliament. That they appear to have done so because of an objection to something a UK MP has said in the legitimate exercise of her duties is a challenge to our core values as a nation."
China has previously banned several British MPs from entering the country, including Ipac members Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Nusrat Ghani, and former security minister Tom Tugendhat. Mr Lammy added: "As I made clear earlier this week, it would be unacceptable for an MP to be denied entry for simply expressing their views as a parliamentarian. Unjustified restrictions on freedom of movement can only serve to further undermine Hong Kong’s international reputation." A week earlier, Mr Lammy had criticised the Israeli government for refusing to allow Labour MPs Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang to enter the country due to comments they had made about the conflict in Gaza.
British Member of Parliament Wera Hobhouse was refused entry into Hong Kong, an incident the U.K. foreign minister called "deeply concerning." Hobhouse, a Liberal Democrat from Bath, was travelling to visit her newly born grandson with her husband when she was stopped by airport security, questioned and eventually sent home, according to The Times. "I am the first MP to be refused entry on arrival to Hong Kong since 1997," Hobhouse wrote in a post on BlueSky, referring to the end of British colonial rule of the city. "Authorities gave me no explanation for this cruel and upsetting blow," she said.
In addition to being a member of Ipac, Ms Hobhouse has previously spoken out against the Chinese government’s abuse of human rights in Tibet and the crackdown on freedom of speech in Hong Kong. The incident has raised alarm among her parliamentary colleagues, with calls for a robust response from the UK government. As the situation unfolds, it remains to be seen how the UK will address this significant diplomatic issue, particularly in light of ongoing discussions about trade and investment with China.
