Labour has opened the door to Britain once again extraditing people to Hong Kong.
The UK’s extradition treaty with Hong Kong was suspended by the then-Tory Government after a new national security law was imposed on the territory by China in 2020.
The treaty meant Hong Kong could request that someone living in Britain who is suspected of a crime at home could be handed over to face justice, and vice versa.
Fears that the law could lead to human rights abuses were behind the UK’s reasoning to put the agreement on ice.
Ministers have however, now introduced a law change in the Commons which would tweak how Hong Kong is designated under the 2003 Extradition Act.
The statutory instrument, introduced in the Commons on July 17, would effectively establish a "case-by-case" extradition route with Hong Kong, as well as Zimbabwe.
In a letter to Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, Security Minister Dan Jarvis suggested the change was needed as no extradition to Hong Kong can currently be made "even if there were strong operational grounds to do so".
"The way to resolve this situation is to de-designate Hong Kong and Zimbabwe from the Act so that we can co-operate with them on a case-by-case ad hoc basis available for non-treaty partners," Jarvis said.
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Former Leader of the Conservative Party Iain Duncan Smith has branded the move an "act of betrayal".
"This is an act of betrayal. To agree an extradition treaty with Hong Kong after China trashed the Sino-British Agreement and has arrested peaceful democracy campaigners and incarcerated them," the London MP wrote to X.
A senior Conservative has meanwhile warned it could put at risk dissident Hongkongers who have fled to the UK to avoid recrimination by the Chinese government.
Shadow Home Office minister Alicia Kearns urged the Government to ensure "protections will be put in place to ensure no Hongkonger, CCP (Chinese Communist Party) critic or anyone targeted by the CCP will be extradited under the new arrangement".
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|Labour has opened the door to Britain once again extraditing people to Hong Kong
Some 150,000 Hongkongers have moved to Britain under a special visa scheme launched in early 2021, after the law was introduced.
Since coming to power, Labour has sought to reset relations with China with the aim of boosting trade, after the Conservatives took an increasingly hawkish attitude towards the country while they were in office.
In a statement, Jarvis said it was "entirely incorrect to say the UK has restored extradition co-operation with Hong Kong".
He added: "The 1997 treaty remains suspended, and this legislation simply completes the severing of ties between the British and Hong Kong extradition systems."
This amendment is in order to give legal effect to the suspension of the extradition treaty with Hong Kong."
The Government is "unwavering in its commitment to upholding human rights, the rule of law, and the safety of all individuals in the UK, including the many Hong Kongers who have made this country their home," Jarvis said.