"The new footage, shot by Channel News Asia but only released two days after the incident, captures about a minute of discreet, high-level manoeuvring before an official arrives to escort Hu away. Hu, who is 79, stepped down as head of the party 10 years ago.

The official Xinhua news agency reported that Hu’s unexpected exit was due to ill health, but gave no further details.

That semi-official line did little to quell speculation that what looked like a forced removal – Hu seemed confused and unwilling to leave his seat – was some kind of political power play by his successor Xi Jinping.

The incident was not broadcast in China, and Hu’s name was effectively scrubbed from the internal internet, inside the country’s great firewall."