Secretary for Justice Paul Lam on Saturday said he will promote the rule of law by doing publicity work for the Basic Law and the National Security Law.

Speaking on a radio programme, Lam stressed that the security legislation is in line with the protection of human rights and freedoms offered by the Basic Law, and it's legitimate to restrict freedom of speech in a reasonable manner in order to safeguard national security.

The minister also said a resolution, passed on Thursday by the European Parliament condemning the recent arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen and four other trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund in Hong Kong, was slanderous.

Lam was also asked about the emails purportedly sent by local police officers to barristers in the United Kingdom, which claimed the lawyers had breached the National Security Law.

"The police made it clear that it is not true," he said, referring to an earlier statement from the force condemning the impersonation of police officers.

"Once it came out, media overseas covered it thinking it's true. This is a very typical smear tactic."

Separately, Lam also noted that President Xi Jinping had affirmed the "unique strengths" of Hong Kong by saying in a speech during his visit here that the SAR will continue to exercise the power to make legal judgements independently under the common law system.