A Liberal Democrat MP has been refused entry to Hong Kong to visit her newborn grandson.
Wera Hobhouse, 65, flew to the region, which was a British territory until 1997, on Thursday.
However she was held at airport security and questioned before being put on the first flight home five hours later.
Chinese officers confiscated her passport, and the MP for Bath was asked about her job and the purpose of her visit.
She also had her luggage searched and stabbed and was then taken to a boarding gate by four immigration officers.
The Times reports that she was left ‘shocked’ and ‘very close to tears’, when she was refused entry into the country and that she was was not able to hug her son, who was waiting for her at the airport.
Ms Hobhouse she was never given any reason why she was barred from entering the country but the member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an international group of politicians that scrutinises Beijing’s approach to human rights and the rules-based order, has said she believes it’s because she is an MP.
She has also criticised the crackdown on free speech in Hong Kong.
This is a breaking news story. More to come.
