A prominent pro-democracy activist known as Grandma Wong was blocked from attending the opening of Jimmy Lai’s trial in Hong Kong on Monday.

Alexandra Wong, 67, was seen being cordoned off by officers while holding a British flag outside the heavily guarded courthouse where the media tycoon’s hearing was taking place.

Mr Lai, 76, is facing charges of breaching national security and colluding with foreign forces in a landmark national security trial that is viewed as a litmus test of judicial independence in Hong Kong.

He is the founder of the now-shuttered Chinese-language tabloid Apple Daily, which often criticised Beijing and supported the huge protest movement that roiled the former British colony in 2019.

The newspaper was forced to close in 2021 after authorities used the security law to raid it twice and freeze assets worth HK$18 million (£1.8 million).

Ms Wong was a fixture of the anti-government demonstrations four years ago and has previously been jailed for “disruption to social order” for flag-waving and shouting slogans.

“I support Jimmy Lai because I want truth,” she said on Monday before being led away by police. “People won’t trust us. I wish he can come out soon. I wish to read Apple Daily again.”

Mr Lai was arrested in August 2020 during a crackdown on dissidents following the introduction of a sweeping national security law that aimed to stamp out the protests with draconian punishments for opaquely-defined offences.

His case has drawn widespread condemnation from the international community, including Britain and the United States, but Beijing has dismissed the criticism as smears and interference.

Mr Lai, who has rarely been seen publicly in recent years having been held in solitary confinement since 2020, arrived at the court flanked by prison guards.

He looked thinner than in previous appearances.

The trial, which was delayed by a year, is expected to last for the next 80 days.

Britain and the US have called for Mr Lai, who holds Chinese and British citizenship, to be set free and have strongly condemned the use of the national security law.