Asia news editor Victor Mallet, whose right to work was previously revoked, has now been barred from re-entering as a visitor

Hong Kong has refused entry to a senior Financial Times journalist after his work visa was denied.

Asia news editor Victor Mallet had left semi-autonomous Hong Kong after the authorities declined to renew his working visa in October. The British national was barred by immigration on Thursday when he tried to come back in as a visitor, according to a report in the FT.

The Hong Kong government did not give an explanation for his original visa denial but it is widely seen as linked to Mallet’s chairing of a press club talk by a Hong Kong independence activist at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club (FCC).

Hong Kong leader refuses to explain UK journalist’s visa denial Read more

The decision to effectively blacklist Mallet prompted a backlash against an unprecedented challenge to freedom of the press in the city.

The FT said Mallet had been turned away on Thursday after several hours of questioning by immigration officers.

Security minister John Lee insisted on Friday the decision to prevent Mallet from entering as a tourist was “nothing to do with freedom of expression and freedom of the press” adding he would not reveal the reasons due to “data privacy” and the risk of “prejudice” to immigration policy.

The FCC said it was “shocked and baffled” and described the move as an “aggravated and disproportionate sanction that seems completely unfounded”.

Amnesty International said it was a “distressing signal” about the state of press freedom in Hong Kong and smacked of “retaliation” against Mallet.

British citizens are usually allowed into Hong Kong without a visa and are permitted to stay for 180 days under immigration rules.

It came on the same day the Tai Kwun arts centre, a major new cultural hub in Hong Kong, pulled talks by dissident author Ma, with venue director Timothy Calnin saying it did not want to become “a platform to promote the political interests of any individual”.

Ma responded on Twitter saying he was a “novelist not an activist” and was simply attending the festival to discuss his new work.

He is due to land in Hong Kong Friday afternoon and expressed concern he would be refused entry to the city but said he was still determined to try.

Hong Kong International Literary Festival said late on Thursday it had found a new venue for the talks, the Annex event and exhibition space in the Central district of Hong Kong island, adding that it “stands by the principles of free speech and cultural expression”.

Ma, who now lives in London, writes dark and satirical works depicting life in China and his books are banned on the mainland.

He is due to promote his latest novel China Dream at festival events Saturday, a title that plays on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s rhetoric of national rejuvenation and is described by publisher Penguin as “a biting satire of totalitarianism”.

Ma said it was Tai Kwun, not the festival, that had pulled his events.

Rights group Amnesty International said Tai Kwun’s cancellation was more evidence that freedom of expression in Hong Kong was “under attack”.

Hong Kong has rights unseen on the mainland, protected by an agreement made before the city was handed back to China by Britain in 1997, but there are signs they are being steadily eroded by Beijing.