Sir Keir Starmer raised the case of jailed pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai in a landmark meeting with Xi Jinping on Monday, signalling he is prepared to challenge China over human rights abuses. It comes despite the prime minister’s plans to build a closer relationship with with Beijing after becoming the first British prime minister to meet the Chinese leader in more than half a decade,

Sir Keir Starmer raised the “deterioration” of jailed pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai when he met Xi Jinping.The Prime Minister held talks with the Chinese president at the G20 summit in Brazil, where he also stressed he wants “respectful” relations between the UK and Beijing.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised concerns over human rights and Taiwan in his first meeting with President Xi Jinping, prompting Chinese officials to usher journalists out of the room.