Ai Weiwei gets visa – and an apology from Home Office

Charles Saumarez Smith, the RA’s Secretary and Chief Executive, said: “The Royal Academy of Arts very much welcomes news that the Home Office has now decided to grant Ai Weiwei the normal six-month business visa he originally applied for”.

Later, the spokesman added: “This case did not come to the Home Secretary, and she is now looking into it”.

In a post on Instagram, he published a photo of a letter purportedly from the embassy, which states that the artist’s application had been denied for reasons of “false representation”.

But, he continues, the British immigration office cites a criminal conviction in China that is ‘a matter of public record, ‘ which Ai says refers to his ‘secret detention by the Chinese authorities in 2011.’.

A spokeswoman for the department said a letter had been sent to Ai “apologising for the inconvenience caused”. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

The British Home Office noted that the visa it granted to Ai would cover the dates he had requested for his visit.

Tim Marlow, the artistic director of the Royal Academy in central London which is hosting the exhibition, said the artist was “bemused and irate”.

A post on Ai’s Instagram account said the restriction meant he “may not be able to attend his exhibition installation and opening”.

“But the representatives insisted on the accuracy of their sources and refused to admit any misjudgement”.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Britain in October, and the move could fuel criticism of Prime Minister David Cameron’s government, accused by critics of putting trade before human rights in dealing with China.

It’s a politically unusual, hypocritical and, ultimately, factually incorrect stance to take; as Liu rightly asks: “Aung San Suu Kyi and many other human rights activists have been kept under house arrest for years”.

“One wonders whether the visa denial is a political one, in which the British government is basing its decision on Chinese criminal procedures that are highly politicised”.