Hong Kong court upholds decision to stop British lawyer from representing Jimmy Lai

Hong Kong’s National Security Committee rules that the admission of senior British lawyer Timothy Owen could harm national security

A court in Hong Kong dismissed an attempt by jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai to challenge a decision by security officials to effectively bar his British lawyer from representing him.

The 75-year-old founder of the now-shut Apple Daily newspaper is behind bars in a high-profile case filed by Hong Kong’s authorities after a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement.

He was accused of “colluding with foreign forces” and charged with sedition under the contentious national security law.

He has pledged to plead not guilty. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.

A judicial review had been filed by Mr Lai after Hong Kong’s National Security Committee (NSC), ruled that the admission of senior British lawyer Timothy Owen could harm national security and advised Hong Kong authorities to reject his visa.

The committee is headed by senior Hong Kong and Chinese officials.

The move to effectively stop Mr Owen from representing Mr Lai came even as the use of foreign lawyers by both prosecutors and defence has long been allowed in the former British colony as part of its rule of law traditions.

On Friday, chief High Court judge Jeremy Poon dismissed Mr Lai’s challenge and said Hong Kong courts essentially had no authority over the National Security Committee.

Under Hong Kong’s national security law, imposed by China in 2020, the judge wrote in a judgement, the law “has not vested the ... courts with any jurisdiction over the work of the NSC”.

“The duties and functions of the NSC... are matters well beyond the ... courts’ institutional capacity,” the judge said.

Robert Pang, one of Mr Lai’s counsels had earlier argued that if the court could not step in when the NSC overstepped its power, Hong Kong was “saying goodbye to a huge chunk of our rule of law”.

“You cannot have a body which can simply say magic words (on) national security, and be able to be free from any challenge,” Mr Pang said.

Earlier on 10 May the Hong Kong legislature passed a bill giving the city’s leader the discretionary power to bar foreign lawyers from national security cases, after a similar ruling by China’s top legislative body in December.

Last week Mr Lai's British-origin son Sebastien Lai called the UK government “incredibly weak” after it failed to condemn and act against the crackdown on dissent in mainland China.

He also criticised the Rishi Sunak administration for not calling on authorities in Hong Kong to release his father, who is a British national.

In January, a spokesperson for Mr Sunak said a junior Foreign Office minister had met Mr Lai’s legal team and that the ministry had provided him with support for some time.

(Additional reporting by agencies)