Labour MP suspended after husband arrested on suspicion of spying for China

Labour MP Joani Reid has been suspended from the party while an internal investigation takes place after her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.

Ms Reid has said she “voluntarily” suspended herself from the Labour whip “until internal investigations are concluded”.

Her husband David Taylor is accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service and was one of three men arrested.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Joani Reid has agreed to fully co-operate with the Labour Party’s investigation into these matters.”

Taylor has also been suspended from the party pending an investigation.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “These are incredibly serious allegations. We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”

Ms Reid said she would continue to serve her constituents in the normal way as an MP.

She said: “This week has been the worst of my life. The shock of recent days has been difficult for me and my family.

“I want to reiterate something very important: I am not under investigation by the police and no accusations have been against me.”

“I have done nothing wrong. I love my country,” she said in a statement first reported by The Guardian.

She said she did not want “speculation and gossip” surrounding her family to be a distraction for the Government.

“Following discussions with the Chief Whip, I am voluntarily suspending myself from the whip this evening and will not sit as a Labour MP until internal investigations are concluded. I will welcome and co-operate with any questions and worries the party may have.”

Taylor, 39, alongside two other men, aged 43 and 68, were arrested by counter-terrorism officers at addresses in London and Wales on Wednesday and have been released on bail until May, the Metropolitan Police said.

He was listed as a “lobbyist” on Ms Reid’s registered interests.

On Wednesday Ms Reid, who sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee and is MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, said she had “never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law”.

Meanwhile, a former senior Labour aide and a Welsh journalist said their homes had been searched by police in relation to the arrests.

Both stressed they had not been arrested.

Martin Shipton, associate editor at National Cymru, said he told police about a trip he took with Taylor to Hong Kong three years ago.

He said the trip ended up being “more of a tourist visit” and there was “nothing that could be construed as constituting ‘espionage’ in any sense”.

James Robinson, a former aide to ex-Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson, said police visited his home with a search warrant.

“Naturally, I co-operated fully with the police and will, of course, continue to do so as long as their investigations into the possible wrongdoing of others continues.

“I would like to make it absolutely clear that I have neither been detained, arrested nor questioned in connection with this or any other matter.”

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has warned parliamentary staff that the risks from foreign state interference “are not receding” after the arrests.

He told staff in an email on Thursday they are a “critical part of our defence” against espionage.

“Recent cases have shown that foreign state actors still rely on traditional methods to obtain information, including through recruiting of people to form relationships and provide information,” Sir Lindsay said, urging staff to report any “unusual approach” to the Parliamentary Security Department.

“Foreign state actors also commonly target electronic devices and communications to gather information. Simple steps can be taken to make it much harder for devices to be hacked and information to be stolen.

“Everyone should be taking these steps to make ourselves a harder target.”

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, previously said the force did not believe there was “any imminent or direct threat” related to the arrests.

Taylor was arrested in London, the 43-year-old man was arrested in Pontyclun in South Wales, and the 68-year-old was arrested in the county of Powys in mid-Wales. All three were detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.

Other properties in London, East Kilbride in Scotland, and Cardiff have also been searched, the Met said.

The policing operation came as security minister Dan Jarvis told MPs that Chinese officials in the UK and Beijing had been given a dressing down, and that the investigation relates to “foreign interference targeting UK democracy”.