Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of potential state interference in the Hong Kong judicial system.

As the Foreign Secretary set out in the foreword to the most recent Six-Monthly report on Hong Kong, British judges have played an important role in supporting the independence of the judiciary in Hong Kong for many years. The UK Government hopes this can continue.

However, the National Security Law poses real questions for the rule of law in Hong Kong and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms promised by China in the Joint Declaration.

Our assessment of Hong Kong's judicial independence is increasingly finely balanced; it is therefore right that it is kept under review. It is essential that both the Hong Kong judiciary and Hong Kong's legal institutions are able to operate independently and free from political interference.