A British Consulate official has been detained in mainland China after urging his girlfriend to “pray for me” as he attempted to cross the border into Hong Kong.

Simon Cheng Man-kit, a trade and investment officer at the Hong Kong consulate’s Scottish Development International section, had travelled on August 8 to a business event in Shenzhen and was due to return the same day.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the official had gone missing while returning from the city of 12.5 million that links Hong Kong to Southeast China.

“We are extremely concerned by reports that a member of our team has been detained while returning to Hong Kong from Shenzhen. We are providing support to their family and seeking further information from authorities in Guangdong Province and Hong Kong,” said an FCO spokesperson on Tuesday.

The British embassy in Beijing confirmed to The Telegraph that the official had been detained in mainland China.