London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

UK summons senior Chinese diplomat over violent attack at Manchester consulate

UK summons senior Chinese diplomat over violent attack at Manchester consulate

MP accuses Chinese consul general of ripping down street posters during protest violence.
The U.K. has summoned a senior Chinese diplomat for urgent talks after a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester was dragged into the Chinese Consulate grounds in Manchester and violently attacked.

China’s charge d’affaires to London, Yang Xiaoguang, will be grilled by senior U.K. officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Tuesday afternoon after civil servants from the department expressed “deep concern” to the Chinese embassy over the attack, FCDO Minister Jesse Norman told the House of Commons.

Footage from the incident, which happened Sunday, shows unidentified men emerging from the consulate compound, tearing down a satirical portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping erected by protesters outside and then attacking a protester within the consulate grounds.

Video shows the men landing a series of violent blows upon the protester, who later identified himself to the BBC as “Bob.” He told reporters he was “dragged inside and attacked” before being rescued by police. Greater Manchester Police confirmed his account.

“The foreign secretary has issued a summons to the Chinese charge d’affaires at the Chinese embassy in London to express His Majesty’s Government’s deep concern at the incident, and to demand an explanation for the actions of the consulate staff,” Norman said during an emergency debate granted by Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle.

Tory MPs pressured the minister to clarify whether the Chinese consul general and other Chinese officials could be expelled from the U.K. if they are found to have committed an offence under British law. Norman insisted ministers must first wait for a formal investigation by Greater Manchester Police to conclude.

“It’s absolutely right to have a legal procedure that goes through that and examines the question in all its aspects,” he said, adding peaceful protest “is a fundamental part of British society and of our way of life” and that “FCDO officials expressed that clearly to the Chinese embassy.”

The debate was requested by Alicia Kearns, newly elected chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, who described the incident as a “chilling escalation” of tensions between the two sides.

She directly accused the Chinese consul general of “ripping down posters” and described the attack which followed as “grievous bodily harm” against a Hong Kong protester by “officials who have been recognized as member[s] of the Chinese Communist Party.”

“We cannot allow the CCP to import the beating of protesters” to British soil, she added.

The Chinese government also responded to the incident Tuesday, but blamed “troublemakers” who it claimed had entered the consulate “illegally.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China will not tolerate the “violation of the peace and dignity of China’s overseas embassies and consulates.”

“The troublemakers illegally entered the Chinese Consulate-General in Manchester, endangering the security of the premises,” Wang said at a daily press briefing.

He urged the U.K. to “earnestly fulfil its duties and take effective measures to step up protection of the premises and personnel of the Chinese embassy and consulates.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
×