Speaking at a daily briefing on Monday afternoon local time, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian expressed the ministry's "firm support for the Hong Kong government in maintaining national security".

He characterised Lai as a "a principal planner and participant in a series of anti-China, destabilising activities in Hong Kong".

"His actions have severely undermined the fundamental principles of 'one country, two systems', seriously endangered national security, and gravely harmed Hong Kong’s prosperity, stability, and the well-being of its citizens," Lin said. "He should be duly punished under the law."

Referring to comments made by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump, both of whom have advocated for Lai's release, Lin urged "the countries concerned to respect China’s sovereignty and Hong Kong’s legal system, refrain from making irresponsible remarks... and not [to] interfere in Hong Kong’s judiciary or China’s internal affairs in any form".

A former Hong Kong legislator has decried Jimmy Lai's sentencing as a harsh, "textbook political verdict".

"I feel deep sorrow and anger over the verdict," Ted Hui told the BBC's Newsday on Monday. "I think the target of the regime is not genuine criminal conduct - not at all - but voices that stood for democracy, freedom and pluralism."

The suggestion that Lai was given a fair trial, Hui added, is "laughable".

"There was no jury trial, he was not allowed to have his own lawyer, and you call this a fair trial?" he said.

"Jimmy Lai is an old man in his eighties. This is a death sentence. This is political torture, which is unacceptable internationally."

Image source, Getty Images

In the lead-up to Lai's sentencing, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the UK government had been criticised for not doing enough to advocate for the 78-year-old's release.

Following Keir Starmer's visit to Beijing in late January - the first by a British Prime Minister in eight years - the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arbitrary Detention and Hostage Affairs issued a statement saying that “an opportunity to secure [Jimmy Lai’s] release has been squandered by weak diplomacy”.

“These opportunities will cost Jimmy Lai his life,” the group said.

Days after Starmer's Beijing visit, Lai's son Sebastien also denounced it as a wasted opportunity.

“If it is so important, then surely there should be some conditionalities put on my father’s release," the younger Lai said last week at a parliamentary hearing on his father’s case, according to The Guardian.

"The trip was a big thing to have been given away."

The UK says it "will rapidly engage further" with Chinese authorities on Lai's case.

"British national Jimmy Lai was today sentenced to 20 years in prison... for a 78-year-old, this is tantamount to a life sentence," foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement posted by the Foreign Office on X.

"I again call on the Hong Kong authorities to end his appalling ordeal and release him on humanitarian grounds, so that he may be reunited with his family. We stand with the people of Hong Kong."

Image source, Getty Images

Hong Kong's chief executive John Lee Ka-chiu has celebrated Jimmy Lai's sentencing as "deeply gratifying", describing his crimes as "heinous" and "utterly despicable".

"For a long time, Lai used Apple Daily to poison the minds of citizens, incite hatred, distort facts, deliberately create social division, glorify violence, and openly beg external forces to sanction China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region," Lee wrote in a Facebook post on Monday afternoon.

"Jimmy Lai's heinous acts endangering national security have harmed the interests of the country and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as well as the interests of the citizens."

Lee, who has previously welcomed convictions against Lai, also characterised today's sentencing as "a significant milestone in Hong Kong's efforts to safeguard national security".

Lai's 20-year sentence is is the harshest to be given under Hong Kong's controversial national security law.

Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in jail under Hong Kong's controversial, Beijing-imposed national security law.

Lai, 78, previously spoke to the BBC about the law and its implications for Hong Kong, while his son Sebastian warned that his father would likely die in prison if sentenced.

BBC News journalist Phoebe Kong explains how we got here.

Yvette Tan
Live editor

It's just past 13:15 in Hong Kong (05:15 GMT), and several hours since pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Here's a quick recap to get you up to speed:

• Lee was sentenced to 20 years, the harshest sentence to be given under Hong Kong's controversial national security law
• The sentencing, which comes just a few months after Lai was found guilty of national security offences in December, was over in just around ten minutes
• Other defendants, including six former Apple Daily executives and two activists who were also in court today, received sentences ranging from six years to 10 years
• A number of human rights and media organisations have condemned Lai's sentence and called on the governments of China and Hong Kong to free him
• Law's charges comprised two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the National Security Law, and one count of publishing seditious material on the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, which he founded, under a separate colonial-era law

Stay with us as we bring you more updates, reactions and analysis.

The head of Hong Kong police's National Security Department has defended Lai's 20-year sentence as "appropriate", according to Reuters.

Chief superintendent Steve Li was speaking after Lai's conviction in a Hong Kong court on Monday.

Lai, 78, received the harshest sentence to be given under Hong Kong's controversial national security law, which China says is necessary for the city's stability

Following the verdict, Li further said that claims of Lai's frail health were "exaggerated".

Lai's barrister had said he suffers from hypertension and diabetes, among other ailments, but the court said it was "not inclined" to hand Lai a lower sentence on account of his medical condition.

Image source, Getty Images

In addition to the penalties handed down to Lai on Monday, the court also convicted a number of former colleagues from his Apple Daily newspaper.

Those affiliated with Apple Daily included former editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong, former executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, former senior editorial writer Fung Wai-kong, former lead editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee, former associate publisher Chan Pui-man, and Cheung Kim-hung, former chief executive of Next Digital, the media company that owned Apple Daily.

Yeung, Chan and Cheung were considered "accomplice witnesses": they not only pleaded guilty but also gave evidence for the prosecution, and were therefore given reduced sentences, according to court documents.

Law, Lam and Fung did not give evidence or assist the prosecution, and so each of their sentences was reduced to the statutory minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment for their guilty pleas.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, who leads Jimmy Lai’s international legal team, had spoken to the BBC ahead of the sentencing.

"This has been a show trial from the start - the script is already written. We know a draconian sentence is coming," Gallagher said.

Lai's international legal team was not allowed to defend him in court.

After Lai's sentence was announced, Gallagher said it marked a "final blow to the rule of law in Hong Kong".

“Sentencing Jimmy Lai – already aged 78 – to two decades behind bars is an affront to justice, and the culmination of over five years of malicious lawfare against a courageous, elderly British citizen and prisoner of conscience.

Now that this sham trial is finally over, we call on leaders from around the world to speak with one voice in their demand for China to free Jimmy Lai so he can come home to his family in London at last.”

Two years out of Lai's 20-year sentence will coincide with his existing prison term – for fraud and unauthorised assemblies – which means he will serve an additional 18 years.

This also means he could be 96 by the time he is released in 2044.

That said, prisoners are typically given a one-third remission of their jail term for good conduct. If granted this, Lai could be released around 2037 or 2038, by which he would have turned 90.

Phoebe Kong
BBC Chinese

A former Apple Daily staffer was in tears when she told me today’s sentencing, which she said was much harsher than she had expected.

Six senior executives of Apple Daily - a tabloid paper which was openly critical of Beijing - were also sentenced in court today, receiving sentences of between six to 10 years.

The former staffer, who didn't want to be named, said she had worked with all of them.

“They were just working in the media profession." she said, adding that it was a "sad day" for the industry.

The government of Taiwan has responded to Jimmy Lai's sentencing, highlighting it as "a lesson" for the Taiwanese people and condemning the governments of China and Hong Kong.

Lai's case demonstrates that under the "one country, two systems model of governance, the freedoms and rights promised to the people of Hong Kong are little more than empty words", Taiwan authorities said in a statement.

The people of Taiwan, it added, should "take Hong Kong's painful experience as a lesson and safeguard the hard-won freedoms of daily life".

Taiwan's government called on China and Hong Kong to "cease the political persecution and immediately release Lai".

Danny Vincent
Reporting from court

When I spoke to Jimmy Lai in 2020 while he was out on bail he told me that if he ended up imprisoned, he would consider it as a way of "living his life meaningfully".

I’ve seen letter and drawings from Lai in prison. His family say his mind is strong but his body is breaking down. His daughter told me that there were times he cancelled appointments to see her because he simply wasn’t well enough.

The authorities insist he received adequate care in prison. But his family say he is now effectively facing a death sentence.

On the ground, some supporters say they are shocked by the sentence he has received, given his age.

"You would never think that a man who publishes newspapers would go to jail," one says.

Image source, Getty Images

We've just received a statement from Lai's children criticising the "draconian sentence".

"Today is a dark day for anyone who believes in truth, freedom and justice," his son Sebastien says. "It signifies the total destruction of the Hong Kong legal system and the end of justice."

Lai's daughter Claire described it as a "heartbreakingly cruel" sentence, adding that she has seen her father's health deteriorate over the last five years.

"If this sentence is carried out, he will die a martyr behind bars," she says.

Jimmy Lai's wife, Teresa Lai, was seen leaving court following her husband's sentencing on Monday morning.

Wearing dark glasses, Teresa walked slowly from the courthouse, arm-in-arm with retired bishop Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun.

The 94-year-old, who served as Bishop of Hong Kong between 2002 and 2009, is known for being outspoken on issues of human rights and political freedom. He himself was arrested in 2022 under the national security law - but was later released.

A summary document from Monday's court proceedings lays out the details of Lai's sentencing.

"Having stepped back and taking a global view of the total sentence for Lai’s serious and grave criminal conduct... we are satisfied that the total sentence for Lai in the present case should be 20 years’ imprisonment," the court documents said.

Although he was sentenced on three separate counts, collectively carrying prison terms of more than 35 years, Lai will be allowed to serve some of those terms concurrently, the document said, "thus making a total imprisonment term of 20 years".

Here's a quick recap of the three charges Lai was sentenced for in this case.

They comprised two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the National Security Law, and one count of publishing seditious material on the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, which he founded, under a separate colonial-era law.

Lai has already been jailed for fraud and his involvement in unauthorised assemblies in two earlier cases. He has denied all charges against him.

The court said it was "not inclined" to hand Lai a lower sentence on account of his medical condition.

"We note that the general rule is that medical grounds will seldom, if ever, be a basis for reducing the sentence for crimes of gravity," it said in the ruling.

Lai's barrister had said he suffers from hypertension and diabetes, among other ailments.

In 2020, Jimmy Lai spoke to the BBC in his home - his last interview as a free man.

“I got everything I have because of this place,” Lai, who was then out on bail, had said.

“If this is payback time, this is my redemption."

Lai has consistently denied all the charges against him.