The alleged consular staff attempted to take away posters and banners the demonstrators had hung up taunting president Xi Jinping. One of the demonstrators, Bob Chan, who attempted to retrieve the poster, was dragged into the consular compound and was violent beaten by unidentified men. Labour MP David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, condemned the violence. He said: 'The UK stands for freedom, the rule of law and democracy. The quashing of peaceful protest will never be tolerated on our streets.'