Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has warned that the widening use of national security legislation in Hong Kong is continuing to damage rights and freedoms.
His six-monthly report, deposited in Parliament on 22 October, covers developments between January and June 2026. It says Hong Kong's economic, monetary and financial systems remained distinct from mainland China during the period.
However, the report concludes that the expanding scope and application of national security laws increasingly affected freedom of expression, assembly, association and the press. The UK continues to regard China as being in ongoing non-compliance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Miliband renewed the UK's call for the immediate release of Jimmy Lai. The report also records developments in the prosecutions of Hong Kong Alliance figures and other cases brought under national security legislation.
It notes that about 238,000 applications under the British National (Overseas) visa route had been approved between January 2021 and March 2026, with 9,804 people granted settlement by March.
The report maintains the Government's position that it can pursue a strategic relationship with China while challenging breaches of Hong Kong's rights and autonomy. It is a formal assessment of the reporting period, not an announcement of sanctions or a new visa scheme.
