Last modified on Wed 13 Jan 2021 13.14 EST
A British barrister has agreed to act for the Hong Kong government next month in its efforts to convict Jimmy Lai and eight other pro-democracy activists accused of taking part in an illegal assembly in 2019.
David Perry’s decision has been challenged by the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, Tom Tugendhat, and by the Labour peer Lord Adonis.
Perry – who has been approached for comment – is regarded as one of the most formidable British QCs to operate in Hong Kong, and will be advising the courts on how the activists broke the city’s freedom of assembly laws. The maximum sentence is seven years if the case is heard in the district court.