LONDON: The British prime minister’s spokesman said on Monday the government was “deeply concerned” after a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester was assaulted in the grounds of the Chinese consulate in Manchester, northern England.

Local police said that a group of men came out of the consulate as protesters held a peaceful demonstration on Sunday afternoon, dragged one of the protesters inside the grounds and assaulted him.

The victim, a man in his 30s, suffered several injuries and spent the night in hospital, police said.

A Downing Street spokesman said reports of the incident were “obviously deeply concerning,” adding that it would be “inappropriate” to comment further while the police probe was ongoing.

Video footage posted on Twitter showed a grey-haired man kick protesters’ banners and scuffle with a group of demonstrators at the gates of the consulate. Then a group of men were shown punching a protester lying on the ground inside its gates.

The BBC reported that the injured activist was from Hong Kong, naming him as Bobby. “They dragged me inside. They beat me up,” he told the broadcaster.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said: “We are not aware of the situation you described.” Wang insisted the embassy and consulates in the UK “have throughout abided by the laws of the host country”.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2022