Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism officers arrested three men on Wednesday on suspicion of assisting a Chinese foreign intelligence service. One of the suspects is married to a sitting Labour member of parliament.
Officers detained a 39-year-old in London, a 68-year-old in Powys, Wales, and a 43-year-old in Pontyclun, Wales. All three were taken into custody under the National Security Act of 2023. Police did not publicly identify the suspects.
The Guardian, which first reported the Labour connections, identified the 39-year-old as David Taylor, husband of Joani Reid, the Labour MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven. Taylor is a former special adviser to Labour peer Peter Hain and currently serves as director of policy and programmes at Asia House. All three men are understood to be former Labour advisers, according to The Guardian.
Security minister Dan Jarvis threatens China with “severe consequences” if allegations are proven. Says the UK has formally démarched Chinese officials in London and Beijing https://t.co/Fk7IMR9tDs
— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) March 4, 2026
Reid, who sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee, said she had “never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law.” She added that neither she nor her children were part of the investigation.
Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle confirmed that none of the arrested men held parliamentary passes.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis told the House of Commons that the arrests were related to Chinese foreign interference targeting UK democracy. “We remain deeply concerned by an increasing pattern of covert activity from Chinese state-linked actors targeting UK democracy,” Jarvis said. He confirmed that British officials had formally protested to their Chinese counterparts in London and Beijing.
The Chinese embassy in London rejected the allegations and said it had lodged a protest with the British government.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing for the Metropolitan Police, said there was no imminent threat to the public.
The operation is the latest in a series of espionage-related cases involving China and British political circles.
MI5 warned lawmakers in November that Chinese intelligence officers were conducting targeted recruitment efforts against individuals with access to sensitive parliamentary information, using LinkedIn profiles and front companies as cover. Espionage charges against two other men with Westminster ties were dropped last year after prosecutors said they could not obtain critical evidence.
Wednesday’s arrests come roughly six weeks after Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Beijing for talks with President Xi Jinping. Britain also approved plans in January for China to construct its largest embassy in Europe in London.
