Husband of Labour MP among 3 arrested on suspicion of spying for China

Three men, including the husband of a Labour MP, have been arrested on suspicion of spying for China as part of an investigation into national security offences, British police said.

David Taylor, husband of East Kilbride and Strathaven MP Joani Reid, was detained by counter-terrorism police in London on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service. Two other men, aged 68 and 43, were arrested in Wales. All three, understood to be former Labour advisers, remain in custody.

Taylor, a former special adviser to Labour peer Peter Hain, is director of policy at the Asia House thinktank and a lobbyist. Reid, a member of the home affairs committee, said she had "never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law" and has never visited China or spoken on China-related matters in parliament.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis confirmed the arrests relate to "foreign interference targeting UK democracy" and said officials have formally protested to Chinese counterparts in London and Beijing. He warned that foreign powers target not just politicians but those close to them.

The arrests come six months after the Crown Prosecution Service dropped charges against two men accused of spying for China, citing an insufficient "evidential standard."

Commander Helen Flanagan of the Met police said counter-terrorism policing has seen a "significant increase" in national security casework, adding there is no imminent threat to the public from this investigation.