Boris Johnson confirms UK will change extradition treaty with Hong Kong

Boris Johnson has confirmed the UK will change its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, but said the UK will take a “calibrated response” towards China.

Speaking during a visit to a school in Kent, the Prime Minister said: “There is a balance here. I am not going to be pushed into position of being knee-jerk Sinophobe on every issue…

“But we do have serious concerns – about the treatment of the Uyghur minority, about human rights abuses.

“Concerns about Hong Kong – you will be hearing a bit later on from the Foreign Secretary about how we are going to change our extradition arrangements to reflect our concerns…

“But we won’t completely abandon our policy of engagement with China,” he added, noting the country was “a giant factor of geo-politics, factor in our lives and those of our children and grandchildren”.

As a result, the UK will take a “calibrated response”, Mr Johnson said, pledging to be “tough on some things but continue to engage”.