LONDON – The detention of a BBC journalist in China who was covering protests against the country’s zero-Covid policy was “shocking and unacceptable”, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday.

Britain will raise concerns with China about the response to the protests while the government will continue to seek constructive relations with the country on other issues, the spokesman said.

“We will continue to raise our human rights concerns with the Chinese government at all levels as part of a frank and constructive relationship,” he said.

“The arrest of this journalist, who was simply going about their work, is shocking and unacceptable. Journalists must be able to do their jobs without fear of intimidation.”

China said on Monday that the BBC reporter did not identify himself as a journalist, after the British broadcaster said he was detained by police during protest coverage in Shanghai.

In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokesman said the BBC’s statement did not reflect what had happened. “According to our understanding, the BBC’s statement is not true,” spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

“According to authorities in Shanghai, the journalist in question did not reveal his journalist identity at the time, he did not openly show his foreign press card,” he added.

“When the incident happened, law enforcement personnel asked people to leave, and when certain people did not co-operate, they were taken away from the scene.”

The United Nations on Monday urged China not to detain people simply for taking part in peaceful protests, as Beijing tried to curb a nationwide series of demonstrations. 

“We call on the authorities to respond to protests in line with international human rights laws and standards. No one should be arbitrarily detained for peacefully expressing their opinions,” UN Human Rights Office spokesman Jeremy Laurence told reporters.

The BBC on Sunday said that Chinese police assaulted and detained one of its journalists covering a protest in Shanghai, before later releasing him after several hours.

“The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai,” a spokesperson for the British public service broadcaster said in a statement.

Social media footage showed Mr Lawrence, a cameraman, being dragged to the ground in handcuffs.

“He was held for several hours before being released. During his arrest, he was beaten and kicked by the police. This happened while he was working as an accredited journalist,” the spokesperson added.

Chinese officials earlier said Mr Lawrence was arrested in case he caught Covid-19 from the crowd, an explanation that the BBC said it did not consider as credible.

Mr Lawrence tweeted on Monday to thank his followers, adding he believed “at least one local national was arrested after trying to stop the police from beating me”.

The reporter later returned to the scene of the protest, according to videos he posted to his Twitter page.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said media freedom, and freedom to protest, must be respected.

“The arrest of BBC journalist Ed Lawrence in China is deeply disturbing. Journalists must be able to do their job without intimidation.”

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China said it was “very disappointed and frustrated at the increasing barriers placed on foreign journalists operating in China and the aggression displayed towards them by police”.

Separately, Chinese police detained three other people on Monday at a site in Shanghai where demonstrators gathered over the weekend to protest Covid-19 lockdowns and call for greater political freedoms, an AFP journalist witnessed.

AFP witnessed three people being led away by police, and one young man subsequently released.

When asked why one of them was taken away, an officer told AFP it was “because he didn’t obey our arrangements” and then referred the reporter to local police authorities.

The man who was released told AFP he had been detained for filming the intersection where the protests had previously occurred .He was taken to a police van before being promptly let go.

“As a Shanghai citizen, I have the freedom to record this,” he said. “This is Shanghai now. There’s no freedom.”

Another man who took a picture of the Wulumuqi street sign was also approached by a police officer and had a protracted discussion with him.

Shanghai police had not responded on Monday to repeated enquiries about how many people had been detained.

Protests against Covid-19 restrictions erupted across many cities and regions in China over the weekend following a deadly fire in Xinjiang, in which virus controls were blamed for hampering rescue efforts.

In Shanghai, crowds gathered on both Saturday and Sunday to mourn the dead and called for an easing of restrictions. AFP