Hong Kong justice secretary Teresa Cheng 'seriously injured' as she is 'attacked' by protesters while visiting London

Hong Kong's justice secretary was injured after being jostled by pro-democracy activists in London and falling to the ground.

Teresa Cheng, visiting the capital to give a speech on dispute resolution in the former British colony, was pursued for about 300 yards through Holborn by around 50 demonstrators yelling “murderer” last night.

Dramatic footage captured the moment she fell to the ground in Bury Place, near the British Museum, and lay clutching her wrist. The minister, who regained her feet before being escorted away by her security officers, was taken to hospital by ambulance.

A statement from the Hong Kong government said Ms Cheng suffered “serious bodily harm” but gave no further details. Scotland Yard said there had been no arrests.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy said today: “We express strong indignation and unequivocally condemn the activists.

"We urge the British police to carry out a thorough investigation into this incident, bring the offenders to justice and strengthen security protection on Chinese personnel and institutions in the UK.”

Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam called the incident “barbaric”, adding “the savage act breached the bottom line of any civilised society”.

It comes after months of protests in Hong Kong over Beijing’s tightening grip on democracy.

Two people have died in the unrest this week — including a 70-year-old street cleaner struck by a brick during riots yesterday.

More than 1,000 have been injured in running battles through the streets, leading to some 4,000 arrests.

The embassy said: “Now, they are taking such violence abroad and into the UK. Their action deserves to be condemned not only by the entire Chinese people including the Hong Kong compatriots but also by the British public and the international community unanimously.”

Ms Cheng, who acts as Ms Lam’s chief legal adviser and whose department is in charge of prosecuting the protesters, played a key role in pushing forward a proposed China extradition bill that ignited the protests in March.

Activists last night handed out leaflets with a picture of the minister captioned “the most hated politician in 2019”. Shop worker Matthew Candia, 24, said: “The woman was being mobbed and there was lots of shouting. She looked terrified and fell over just outside my shop.”

Scotland Yard said: “Police are investigating an allegation of assault in Bury Place at around 5.05pm on Thursday. There have been no arrests at this stage.”