Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence

Lord Fox Excerpts

Monday 9th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

It is outrageous that Jimmy Lai has not had contact from his family—that is inhumane. We continue to argue that he should have that contact and consular assistance. The Foreign Secretary has spoken to Secretary Rubio about this, and noble Lords will know that President Trump intends to visit China later this year, so we will continue to raise this with all our allies and partners.

[Lord Fox (LD)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness said that the Government are focusing on the action that will help Jimmy Lai the most; I have to say it is not easy to feel optimistic, given the progress made so far. Can the Minister bear in mind that we are a huge market for the Chinese? There is a trade deficit of over £40 billion for its goods, which are being sold virtually frictionless into our country. That is an area we should be much closer to leveraging, because all else seems to have failed.

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

How we use our trade relationship to exert this kind of pressure needs really careful consideration. It would be very easy to take measures that harm us but have no impact at all. We need to deploy those levers that we think will be most effective. This is a devastating day, with Jimmy Lai having been sentenced in the way that he has, but I can assure the noble Lord that we will consider every means that we need to.