Priti Patel wants Hong Kong BNO passport holders to have automatic entry to Britain. Dominic Raab is said to fear that such a relaxation of rules would antagonise Beijing

Priti Patel is at war with foreign secretary Dominic Raab after he allegedly blocked an initiative to allow victims of state repression and violence in Hong Kong to flee to the UK.

Ms Patel , the home secretary, is seeking to relax immigration rules for holders of British national (overseas) (BNO) passports, a document created as Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997.

Up to 248,000 people hold BNO passports, but they are not UK citizens, nor entitled to live in the UK, and can only visit for up to six months.

They are also subject to British immigration control, meaning that border agents can refuse entry to those they suspect of wanting to overstay their visas.

Ms Patel , the daughter of Ugandan