British police arrested three men on Wednesday on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, authorities and media reported. The arrests were made under section 3 of the National Security Act 2023, legislation that expanded powers to tackle foreign interference. Officials confirmed the country involved was China. The suspects, aged 39, 43 and 68, remain in custody and their names have not been released, following usual UK practice.
UK outlets identified one of those detained as David Taylor, husband of Joani Reid, the Labour MP for East Kilbride. Reid told the Times and the Telegraph she had “never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law.” She said she was not involved in her husband’s business affairs, that neither she nor her children are part of the investigation, and that she has never been to China or spoken on China-related matters in the House of Commons.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis declined to provide further details when questioned in parliament, later saying: “We will always challenge any country, including China, that attempts to interfere with or undermine the integrity of our democratic institutions.”
The arrests follow an alert last November from Britain’s domestic intelligence service warning MPs that China had used headhunters on LinkedIn and other covert operatives to recruit or compromise officials. That warning came two months after controversy over the collapse of an espionage case against two British men accused of passing sensitive information to China.
The incident presents a political dilemma for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has tried to reset relations with China and recently became the first UK leader in eight years to visit Beijing as part of efforts to pursue closer economic ties. China’s embassy in London said it had lodged a protest, accusing the UK of attempting to “fabricate facts and concoct so-called ‘espionage cases’ to maliciously slander China.”