BBC journalist beaten and kicked by Chinese police while covering anti-lockdown protest in Shanghai

27 November 2022, 21:38 | Updated: 28 November 2022, 06:02

A BBC reporter was beaten and kicked by Chinese police officers behind closed doors after being arrested while covering an anti-lockdown protest in Shanghai.

Senior journalist and cameraman Ed Lawrence was filmed being led away and telling his colleague: "Call the consulate now."

Another video showed three officers pinning him down before lifting him up and leading him away.

British officials have reportedly spoken with Mr Lawrence, who has now been released.

A BBC spokesperson tonight told LBC: “The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai. He was held for several hours before being released.

"During his arrest, he was beaten and kicked by the police. This happened while he was working as an accredited journalist. “It is very worrying that one of our journalists was attacked in this way whilst carrying out his duties.

"We have had no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities, beyond a claim by the officials who later released him that they had arrested him for his own good in case he caught Covid from the crowd. We do not consider this a credible explanation.”

READ MORE: China rocked by new anti-lockdown protests and calls for President Xi Jinping to quit

Mr Lawrence is based at the corporation's Beijing bureau. He travelled to Shanghai to film mass protests gripping the nation, which have included protesters urging President Xi to resign.

According to his most recent tweet posted just after 8am today, Lawrence was informed that "police have blocked the roads around this area and they’re not letting people through."

The striking escalation comes hours after footage emerged of student-led demonstrations in cities across China as the government seeks to impose the latest in a series of wide, severe restrictions.

Violence has broken out between police and protesters in at least seven cities including financial hub Shanghai, capital Beijing, Guangzhou and Nanjing.

Some observers claim the number gathered is the highest to publicly protest China's government since the 1989 wave of unrest that resulted in demonstrations at Tiananmen Square - and a deadly state response.

Crowds stood and filmed as officers shoved people who had gathered in the street and shouted “We don’t want PCR tests, we want freedom!”, according to a witness.