Watch the moment Camilla Tominey slapped down a senior Labour minister after he called on the presenter to apologise to Sir Keir Starmer over the fate of Jimmy Lai.
At the start of February, just a few days after Sir Keir visited China, the Hong Kong dissident and British pro-democracy campaigner was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of publishing seditious materials in his now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper.
Mr Lai denied all charges, insisting he was a “political prisoner”.
“The last time we had a chat on this show, Steve Reed, you suggested that the Prime Minister had gone out to Beijing to secure the release of Jimmy Lai,” Camilla began today.
And, in that fiery rendition of the weekly politics show from February 1, the senior minister boldly said: “If [Jimmy Lai] is released in a few months’ time, I will enjoy coming back on this show and you telling me the Prime Minister did the right thing [by visiting Beijing].”
Eight days after the interview, the 78-year-old media tycoon was imprisoned by Chinese authorities for 20 years – a sentence which was branded as “essentially a life sentence” by his son, Sebastien.
The verdict led to the harshest sentence to be handed out under the city’s national security law – while Beijing continues to look for new ways to enhance the draconian legislation’s ability to curb free speech.
“Shortly after we spoke, Jimmy Lai got imprisoned for 20 years. Do you want to make any comment?” Camilla put it to the Labour minister.
Mr Lai was handed a 20-year-long ‘death sentence’ last month
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GB NEWS
Last month ahead of the major trip, Mr Reed told Camilla: “Keir Starmer wants to raise the issue with the President of China which he has done directly, there is more hope when there is dialogue and a conversation.”
He added there was now “some hope” Mr Lai would be released, when before there was none.
“Refusing to talk to the Chinese would mean no hope of Jimmy Lai being released,” he previously claimed.
Today, she put to the senior minister: “You’ve called on me to apologise to the Prime Minister. Should Jimmy Lai be released?
Jimmy Lai pictured in 2020
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GETTY
“Do you want to apologise to me?” the presenter questioned.
In response, Mr Reed reiterated his previous response.
“Now, I think what I said at the time is, if we have open channels of communication, there is some hope we can secure Jimmy Lai’s release,” he maintained.
“Whereas if you refuse to speak, there is zero chance of his release. The Prime Minister raised the issue of Jimmy Lai in China. I still hope that in time we can secure his release.
“But if you refuse to speak to him, which is what you’re advocating, zero chance. I’d rather have some hope than no hope.”
He added he hoped Mr Lai would be freed from his “undeserved” imprisonment “before too much time has passed”.
Previously, Mr Lai’s son has blasted Sir Keir Starmer’s trip to China, saying his father is suffering in solitary confinement while politicians turn their attention to warming diplomatic relations.
Sebastian told GB News: “Many people worry about national security, especially from China. And yet, we seem to have given a lot away – the trip, the super embassy – without getting anything in return.
“It seems like it would be a relatively simple thing to put a 78-year-old man, in very poor health, on a plane back to the UK. If they can’t even do that, what does it say about the relationship?”