The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has urged China to step back from the brink by abandoning plans to impose new security laws on Hong Kong, as he accused Beijing of treating a member of Foreign Office staff in a way “amounting to torture”. Raab attacked the Chinese government’s brutal treatment of Simon Cheng, a former employee of the British consulate in Hong Kong, who was kept in custody for 15 days after travelling to the mainland. Defending the UK’s right to comment on Hong Kong by noting other countries have a right to hold Beijing to account if it does not uphold international treaties, Raab added: “China has not provided an adequate response on its undertaking to investigate Cheng’s mistreatment.” Urging the Chinese government not to interfere in elections for a new Hong Kong legislature due to be held in September, he said Beijing should stop using its economic power to try to influence business in the territory. Late last week HSBC bank announced its support of the new security laws, an act described as “craven” by the former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind. The warnings come in the latest six monthly report on Hong Kong submitted by Raab to the UK parliament. In some of the strongest language ever seen in the oftentimes bland reports, Raab warns the plans to impose new security laws bypassing the Hong Kong legislature are in direct conflict with international law. The Foreign Office is trying to build a diplomatic alliance against the security measures in an attempt to convince China that the reputational and economic price for going ahead with the new security laws is too high. Raab argues the way out of the impasse is for both sides to invest in dialogue and reconciliation, underpinned by a robust, independent inquiry into police repression of the protests. The six monthly report covers the period July to December 2019, encompassing some of the most violent of the wave of mass protests sparked by a currently shelved extradition bill. Raab directly warns China not to interfere in the Hong Kong legislature elections due to take place in September saying “they must be free, fair and without violence or intimidation”. There is a concern that China will cancel the ballot fearing the pro-democracy movement will do too well. District elections in November saw a record turn-out and 57% of the vote going to pro-democracy candidates, a result described in the Foreign Office as a landslide. Raab says although the planned emergency security legislation has yet to be published, the outline “raises the prospect of prosecution in Hong Kong for political crimes, which would undermine existing commitments to protect the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong”. He adds: “Such legislation would be a clear violation of China’s international obligations, including those made under the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The proposals also include provision for the authorities in Hong Kong to report back to Beijing on progress in pursuing national security education of its people, which is a sobering prospect.” He also reiterates the promise that British National Overseas passport holders will be entitled to a 12 months extendable visa opening a path to citizenship. However, this offer is coming under increasing scrutiny from Hong Kong campaigners who are demanding to see the small print in order to assess its true value. Rifkind, speaking this week to the Henry Jackson Society, said: “China does have an Achilles heel when it comes to Hong Kong. If China pushes too far with what they are seeking to do, they will not absorb a prosperous significant financially important Hong Kong into the body of China. They will be left with a hollow shell. “If it ceases to be an enclave of freedom, many young Hongkongers, the brightest people in the world, will not live under Chinese totalitarian control, but leave – some to Britain and some to other countries. It will be a tragedy and to its permanent shame of having destroyed the freedoms of Hong Kong.”