JLG won't intervene

Britain conceded yesterday that the controversy over the ruling was an area that could not be discussed by the Joint Liaison Group.

At the last JLG meeting to be held in London, British Ambassador Alan Paul said he accepted that judgments made by the Court of Final Appeal were a matter only for Hong Kong and the mainland.

Speaking after two days of talks with his mainland counterpart, Mr Paul said: 'We have no wish to intervene.' But Mr Paul said that the 'independence, authority and credibility' of the court was essential for both international and local confidence.

He said that even after the JLG stopped meeting at the end of this year, Britain would continue to take an active interest in Hong Kong issues.