Labour MP Joanie Reid has said she has seen nothing to suggest her husband, David Taylor, has broken the law after his arrest as part of an investigation into alleged spying for China. Reid, who represents East Kilbride and Strathaven, was speaking after the Metropolitan Police announced three arrests on Wednesday morning as part of a counter-terrorism investigation under the National Security Act. The three men, aged 39, 43 and 68, have been released on bail, police said, and their identities have not been released publicly.
The MP emphasized that she is not involved in her husband's business activities and that neither she nor her children are part of the investigation.
“I have never seen anything that would make me suspect that my husband broke the law,” Reid said.
She added that she expects the media to respect her children's privacy and not treat them as part of the investigation. Reid also stressed that she has never been to China, has not discussed the country or its regime in Parliament, and has had no deliberate contact with Chinese companies, diplomats or officials during her service as an MP.
"I do not admire or defend the dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party," she added.
Reid's husband, David Taylor, is listed on the MP's register of interests as a director of Earthcott Limited, a lobbying firm. Reid, the granddaughter of prominent trade unionist Jimmy Reid, served as a councillor in Lewisham, south London, for eight years before becoming an MP.
Following news of the arrests, Security Minister Dan Jarvis made a statement in Parliament expressing the government’s concern about an increase in covert activity by Chinese state-linked actors aimed at undermining democracy in the UK. Jarvis stressed that if Chinese interference in UK sovereign affairs is proven, there will be serious consequences and all actors will be held accountable. He also noted that the government continues to see the benefits of long-term economic engagement with China.
There was no shortage of criticism from the Conservative opposition. The MP, Alex Burghart, accused Labour of a “failed policy of appeasement” towards China and called for the recall of the Chinese ambassador to the UK. He added that further interference would not be tolerated and that China should be placed at the highest level of the government’s foreign influence register, increasing controls on any activity linked to the Asian country.
