Lord Patten urges UK to speak up publicly over Hong Kong democracy issue

Lord Patten has urged the UK to speak up in support of democracy in Hong Kong.

According to the BBC, the last British governor of Hong Kong suggested the UK was reluctant to raise difficult issues with Beijing because of fears of losing trade opportunities

Calling the UK policy of "keeping shtoom" as counter-productive, Pattern urged the ministers to speak out publicly rather than talk "behind their hands" and "behind closed doors".

He said that when China asserts that what is happening in Hong Kong is nothing to do with the UK, the country should make it absolutely clear both publicly and privately that it is not the case.

Lord Patten said the UK could have been more "helpful" in raising issues about the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in July before the protests began to escalate, the report added.