Dr Julian Lewis: Does my right hon. Friend accept that it is not unknown for Communist regimes to insert agents provocateurs into popular movements in order to discredit them? Will he bear in mind that the messages that we send to Communist China – for example, in sucking up to it over issues such as Huawei and our telecommunications infrastructure – need to be looked at through the prism of its human rights abuses?

[The Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan): It is not for me to speculate on whether agents provocateurs have been going about such business. That is a matter for the Government of Hong Kong to investigate. In respect of the Chinese Government, the Prime Minister did speak to Chinese Vice Premier Hu on 17 June, and we do speak very directly to them about Hong Kong and, of course, about human rights in general.]