The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Wednesday strongly condemned Chris Patten's remarks against the Court of Final Appeal decision dismissing the appeals of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and six others convicted of participating in an unauthorized assembly in 2019.

In a statement, the HKSAR government also vehemently opposed the former British governor of Hong Kong’s “wanton personal vilifications” against Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, an overseas non-permanent judge of the CFA who was involved in the adjudication of the case.

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"Patten's slandering remarks were made in blatant disregard of the detailed legal analysis by the CFA in its 76-page judgement and the factual background of the relevant case,” an HKSAR government spokesman said.

“Such remarks were made for the sole purpose of exerting political pressure on the judges of the CFA who adjudicated the case independently in strict accordance with the law, in an attempt to influence the judicial system of the HKSAR, and were nothing but a despicable political manoeuver,” he added.

Lai, founder of the now-defunct tabloid Apple Daily, and six former lawmakers had sought to overturn their convictions, arguing that they were exercising their assembly rights, and cited two similar cases from the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court as part of their defense.

However, the CFA judgment, delivered jointly by Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung and permanent judge Roberto Ribeiro, said that Hong Kong’s courts should not follow the two British legal precedents because of their distinct legal frameworks.

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The spokesman said Patten's criticisms against Lord Neuberger were completely groundless and unjustified personal attacks aiming to smear and slander his reputation, “which fully exposed Patten's malicious attempt to undermine the system of NPJ”.

He said all the judges involved in the case made very detailed legal analysis in their judgements and explained clearly why the two United Kingdom case decisions should not be followed by Hong Kong courts.

The spokesman noted that Lord Neuberger not only delivered a separate judgement which clearly explained his reasons for agreeing with the joint judgement delivered by the chief justice and Justice Ribeiro, but also presented his observations on other UK legal precedents.

"Everyone has the right to express his or her views on court decisions within the boundaries permitted by the law, but no one can abusively criticize or slander judges, or make baseless allegations purely out of political motives,” the spokesman said.

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“Patten deliberately ignored the judgement delivered by Lord Neuberger and maliciously accused the judge of not properly explaining the reasons for his judgment. Such an act was totally unfounded and outrageous,” he said, adding that the HKSAR government strongly condemns Patten's blatantly improper words and deeds.