Jimmy Lai’s son tells Burnham: Help save my father, before it’s too late

Jimmy Lai’s son tells Burnham: Help save my father, before it’s too late In a personal letter to Andy Burnham, Sebastien Lai demands an urgent meeting with the PM to secure the release of his father after almost six years in solitary confinement in Hong Kong. - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments The son of imprisoned British citizen Jimmy Lai has issued an urgent plea to Andy Burnham to help save his father from a Hong Kong jail “before its too late”. Mr Lai, the 78-year-old founder of Apple Daily, the city’s most vocal pro-democracy newspaper, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February on disputed collusion and sedition charges, as part of a mounting national security crackdown on the former British colony by Beijing. He has reportedly been kept in solitary confinement since his December 2020 arrest, despite mounting concerns for his deteriorating physical health. In a personal letter to Mr Burnham, Sebastien Lai has demanded an urgent meeting with the PM and has called on him to personally press Chinese President Xi Jinping for his father's release on humanitarian grounds. He points out that Mr Burnham is the fifth prime minister since his father was imprisoned, with seven foreign secretaries in that time. In the letter penned last month, he wrote: “When the prime minister or foreign secretary changes, there is an inevitable delay and critical time is lost. This is why I have been keen to meet to brief you urgently, to avoid a repeat of this familiar pattern. “As a British citizen, it is imperative that his prime minister leads the international calls for his release. I now write to you directly to ask that you agree to meet with me before parliament returns on 1 September 2026. I can be available at any time, day or night, and in any location. I ask for 15 minutes of your time, to work together to save my father's life.” The appeal is a desperate follow-up to a letter sent to the UK government on the day Mr Burnham was appointed, and follows disturbing new revelations about Mr Lai's deteriorating health after almost six years in solitary confinement in Hong Kong. Sebastien Lai said his father – who has a heart condition, diabetes and has suffered a dramatic weight loss – cannot afford another lengthy wait for a top-level intervention from Downing Street. "My father is 78 years old. His health is deteriorating, and after more than five and a half years in solitary confinement in a tiny cell, in a week that Hong Kong has experienced its highest-ever temperatures, we are desperately worried about how much longer he can endure this”, Sebastien said. "We lost valuable time waiting for the previous prime minister to engage. It took 18 months for Sir Keir Starmer to meet us. My appeal to Andy Burnham is very simple: please don't make us wait again as your predecessor did. "Meet with me. Hear directly what is happening to my father. And please make his release a personal priority with President Xi.” He added: "Every day he remains in prison is another day of his life that we cannot get back. We cannot allow him to die in prison." His family dismiss claims by the Hong Kong authorities that Mr Lai receives adequate and comprehensive healthcare. Requests by his family to allow independent medical care have been rebuffed by the Hong Kong authorities, and his family are no longer allowed to supply his medication to the prison. While foreign secretary Ed Miliband is believed to have raised Mr Lai’s imprisonment with his counterpart Wang Yi last month, Mr Lai's international legal team argued his case ultimately requires intervention at the highest political level. Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, international counsel for Mr Lai and his son Sebastien, said: “Jimmy's situation is now desperately urgent. He is an elderly and ailing British citizen who has spent coming up to six years in solitary confinement, sometimes in sweltering conditions, and whose health is deteriorating by the day. “We welcome the fact that the foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, has already raised Jimmy's case with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. But this cannot simply be left to the Foreign Office. “Andy Burnham now has an opportunity, as a new prime minister, to demonstrate that protecting the life of a British citizen imprisoned overseas is a responsibility that reaches right to the door of Number 10. “The prime minister should meet the family urgently and make clear at the highest levels of the Chinese Government that Jimmy must be released before it is too late.” Downing Street has been contacted for comment. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments