This was followed by a joint statement on 14 January 2021 from the foreign ministers of Australia, the US, Britain and Canada expressing “serious concern” about the arrests of over 50 pro-democracy opposition figures in Hong Kong.
[7] Also on 14 January, Sir Malcolm Rifkind criticised Perry's judgment, writing that it "is clear to me from the circumstances" that the trial "is taking place because of the determination of the Chinese government to destroy the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong."
Rifkind reminded readers that "Lady Hale, the former president of the Supreme Court, admitted she would have 'a serious moral question to ask myself' if she agreed to sit on the bench in Hong Kong cases.
"[8] On 17 January, foreign secretary Dominic Raab, interviewed by Sophy Ridge on Sky, said: "I don’t understand how anyone of good conscience, from the world-leading legal profession that we have, would take a case where they will have to apply the national security legislation at the behest of the authorities in Beijing, which is directly violating, undermining the freedom of the people of Hong Kong [...] I understand in the case of Mr Perry, in relation to the pro-democracy activists, and of course from Beijing’s point of view, this would be a serious PR coup.
"[9] In a statement on 20 January, the Hong Kong Department of Justice announced that Perry had decided to withdraw from the case due to his concerns about negative responses from the British community, and the waiver of the quarantine requirement.