Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 5 January (HL13153), where the information about what consideration the Prime Minister has given to delaying his official visit to China in January until Jimmy Lai has been released from prison is located in the statement or response in the House of Lords on 17 December 2025 (HL Deb cols 798–806).
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
At Column 804, in response to the Noble Lord's question on the matter.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 5 January (HL13152), where the information about the representations they have made to the (1) government of China, and (2) authorities in Hong Kong, regarding the admission of evidence obtained through the reported torture of Andy Li and cited during the trial of Jimmy Lai is located in the statement or response in the House of Lords on 17 December 2025 (HL Deb cols 798–806).
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
These were among the representations that the Foreign Secretary referred to in her opening statement, at Column 800, and again - in response to Lord Oates - at Columns 802-803.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they are supporting the international efforts to demand the halt of executions of women in Iran, including the representation signed by over 400 prominent women on 23 December 2025.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstance as a matter of principle. We continue to play an integral role in the delivery of the UN Third Committee and have repeatedly called on Iran to establish an immediate moratorium on executions, including at the Committee's annual resolution in November 2025. The resolution condemned Iran's application of the death penalty, which is in violation of its international obligations, including executions undertaken against persons on the basis of forced confessions and without fair trial and due process. We will continue to work with international partners to hold Iran to account for its continued human rights violations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran about halting the execution of women human rights defenders such as Zahra Tabari.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstance as a matter of principle. We continue to play an integral role in the delivery of the UN Third Committee and have repeatedly called on Iran to establish an immediate moratorium on executions, including at the Committee's annual resolution in November 2025. The resolution condemned Iran's application of the death penalty, which is in violation of its international obligations, including executions undertaken against persons on the basis of forced confessions and without fair trial and due process. We will continue to work with international partners to hold Iran to account for its continued human rights violations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of violence by Iran's security forces against pro-democracy protestors, and what action they are taking in response.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the statement made to the House on 7 January, which can be found at the following link: https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2026-01-07/debates/4F44EBDD-1568-41F7-AEEE-663F099BF92A/MiddleEastAndNorthAfrica.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the (1) government of China, and (2) authorities in Hong Kong, regarding the admission of evidence obtained through the reported torture of Andy Li and cited during the trial of Jimmy Lai.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the statement given to the House on 17 December 2025 on the conviction of Jimmy Lai, and to the responses in the subsequent debate, where such issues were addressed.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the conviction of Jimmy Lai represents a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the statement given to the House on 17 December 2025 on the conviction of Jimmy Lai, and to the responses in the subsequent debate, where such issues were addressed.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration the Prime Minister has given to delaying his official visit to China in January until Jimmy Lai has been released from prison.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the statement given to the House on 17 December 2025 on the conviction of Jimmy Lai, and to the responses in the subsequent debate, where such issues were addressed.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it is their official policy to omit mention of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the imprisonment of Jimmy Lai when ministers discuss the UK-Hong Kong bilateral relationship in the press.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
On the contrary, ministers and officials regularly raise the continued detention of Jimmy Lai, and China's obligations under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, in interviews with the media, statements to Parliament, public speeches, the government's Six-monthly Reports to Parliament on Hong Kong, and discussions we have with our Chinese counterparts. For example, the Foreign Secretary raised Jimmy Lai's case both in her working dinner with G7 foreign ministers in Canada on 11 November, and a phone call with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on 6 November.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce limits on the circumstances in which police forces can add children to facial recognition watchlists.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Facial recognition is a crucial tool that helps the police locate missing people, suspects, and those wanted by the courts.
In some cases, under the existing legal framework this includes vulnerable individuals such as missing children. When using facial recognition technology, police forces must comply with legislation including the Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010, Data Protection Act 2018, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, as well as their own published policies. For live facial recognition, police forces must also follow the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on Live Facial Recognition.
This sets out the categories of people who may be included on a watchlist. These include individuals wanted by the police or the courts, suspects, missing or vulnerable people, or those posing a risk of harm to themselves or others.In each case, inclusion on a watchlist must be justified and authorised, and must pass the tests of necessity, proportionality and use for a policing purpose.
On 4th December the Government launched a consultation on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies. During the consultation we want to hear views on when and how biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies should be used, and what safeguards and oversight are needed.