The British government is under pressure to offer more protection for holders of the British National (Overseas) passport who remain in Hong Kong.

The British Consulate in Hong Kong should offer legal and consular assistance to BN(O) holders charged under a controversial national security law and provide refuge when necessary, according to a letter to British foreign minister Dominic Raab penned by 16 Members of Parliament.

BN(O) holders can apply to stay in the United Kingdom and eventually obtain full British citizenship under a new policy rolled out just before the draconian national security law was implemented on June 30.

However, the MPs — all members of the Inter Parliamentary Alliance on China — were concerned that the new immigration route would offer little protection for people currently residing in Hong Kong, particularly when the Chinese government has threatened to block the departure of some Hongkongers.

“With the majority of BN(O) passport holders residing in Hong Kong, we face the unsettling prospect of British nationals being routinely arrested based on spurious and politically motivated charges,” they wrote in the letter dated Sept. 7 and posted to Twitter on Monday.

“In light of our clear legal and moral obligations to Hong Kong, this is not something we can allow to happen without offering assistance which is within our power to give.”

Their proposal would imply an overhaul of the status of BN(O) holders in Hong Kong as outlined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration — the treaty that returned the sovereignty of the former British colony to China.

Currently, the British nationality of BN(O) holders is not recognized in Hong Kong and mainland China. Holders are barred from seeking assistance from British consulates and its embassy in China.

U.K.-based and self-exiled Hong Kong activist Nathan Law said in a Facebook post that it was unlikely that the suggestion by the MPs would be accepted. There would also be strong opposition from China if the rights of BN(O) holders in its territory were to be changed, he said.

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