Britain should make pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai's release a condition of establishing closer relations with China, Lai's son Sebastien said on Monday after his father was found guilty of sedition and collusion by Hong Kong's High Court.

Jimmy Lai’s son, Sebastien Lai, and his international legal team hold a media briefing Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted in a landmark national security trial in the city's court on Monday, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life

He attributed his rags-to-riches ascent to the freedoms of Hong Kong, and has paid a hefty price for defending them.

Mr Lai’s case looks likely to establish new precedents both legally and socially. The party’s control centres on a national-security law ( NSL ). It was promulgated by the national parliament in Beijing in 2020 in the wake of the unrest in Hong Kong the year before.