China spy suspects released on bail

Three men arrested on suspicion of spying for China have been released on bail.

The trio includes David Taylor, the husband of Scottish Labour MP Joani Reid, who represents East Kilbride.

He is accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service along with two other former Labour advisers aged 43 and 68.

Counter-terrorism police made the arrests at addresses in London and Wales yesterday. Police Scotland assisted with the search of a premises in East Kilbride as part of the operation.

All three men have now been released on bail until May.

Following her husband’s arrest, Home Affairs Committee member Reid, who was elected in 2024, said : “I have never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law. I am not part of my husband’s business activities and neither I nor my children are part of this investigation, and we should not be treated by media organisations as though we are. Above all, I expect media organisations to respect my children’s privacy.”

She continued: “I have never been to China. I have never spoken on China or China-related matters in the Commons. I have never asked a question on China-related matters. As far as I am aware I have never met any Chinese businesses whilst I have been an MP, any Chinese diplomats or government employees, nor raised any concern with ministers or anyone else on behalf of, even coincidentally, Chinese interests.”

Taylor was formerly a special adviser to Labour’s Peter Hain during his tenure as Welsh secretary. He has since worked as a lobbyist and is the director of the firm Earthcott Limited, which is listed as a backer of Labour business group SME4Labour.

He was appointed as director of policy and programmes at London-based think tank Asia House in September 2024. The body “convenes leaders from business, government, academia and civil society to address the issues shaping Asia, the Middle East and Europe”.