China spying arrest ‘deeply concerning’ says Anas Sarwar

Anas Sarwar has described the arrest of three men linked to Labour on suspicion of spying for China as “deeply concerning”.

The Scottish Labour leader also confirmed an independent panel is considering whether action needs to be taken against MP Joani Reid, the spouse of one of the men involved.

A decision will be taken later on Thursday following that process, Sarwar said.

David Taylor, Reid’s huband, was arrested on Wednesday alongside two other men accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service. All three men have now been released on bail until May.

Sarwar described the allegations as “incredibly serious, deeply concerning, [and] a matter of national security”, requiring a “full and thorough police investigation”.

Reid, who was elected in 2024, said in a statement she had “never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law”.

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.”

On whether Reid should step back from any parliamentary role she holds – such as her membership of the Commons’ Home Affairs Committee – he said: “We're considering all these matters because they are serious questions that you're putting to me. As you know, we have the independent governance and legal unit which is considering many of these matters. And we will have judgements to make today.”

Asked whether the MP should be suspended from Labour, he said: “This is rightly an independent governance and legal unit process. We're looking at all the questions that arise from this and we'll be making judgements later today.”

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.

Sarwar was unable to confirm whether Taylor was a member of Scottish Labour or another branch of the party, but added: “If that is the case, I'm sure his membership will be suspended.”

He confirmed he had met Taylor at Labour Party events, including one within the last year, but he said he was “not someone that is well known to me or someone that I have any kind of relationship with”.

The SNP has called for Sarwar to launch an inquiry into Reid’s business affairs, following a report in The Herald that the MP’s former consultancy firm received loans from two of her husband’s companies, one in 2022 and another in 2023.

Reid Strategy Limited was wound up shortly after she was elected in July 2024.

SNP MP Kirsty Blackman said: “There are serious questions for Ms Reid to answer.

“If she genuinely had 'no involvement' in David Taylor's business activities, as she claims, then she must come clean and explain why her company received thousands of pounds in interest free loans from his businesses – as that appears to be the polar opposite of no involvement.”