Joani Reid, the Labour MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, has resigned the party whip following the arrest of her husband, David Taylor, on suspicion of spying for China. Reid announced her decision on Thursday evening, stating she would temporarily step down while an internal Labour investigation is carried out. The party confirmed she had been administratively suspended, which has the effect of suspending the whip.
David Taylor, a former special adviser to Labour peer Peter Hain and a lobbyist with the company Earthcott, was arrested on Wednesday under the National Security Act alongside two other men, aged 43 and 68. Police confirmed on Thursday that all three had been released on bail until May. Taylor has also been suspended from the Labour party pending an investigation.
In a statement, Reid described the week as 'the worst of my life' and emphasised that she is not under police investigation. 'I have done nothing wrong,' she said. 'I do not want the circumstances that I and my family find ourselves in to be a distraction for this government.' She also urged media organisations to respect her children's privacy.
The arrests come six months after the Crown Prosecution Service dropped charges against two men accused of spying for China, one of whom was a parliamentary aide who had worked with two Conservative MPs. The case collapsed before trial. The developments have put pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has faced criticism over his decision to visit China in January and his approval of plans for a Chinese 'mega-embassy' near the City of London.
As part of the investigation, police raided the homes of a journalist in Wales and a former Labour aide. Martin Shipton, 72, associate editor at the Nation Cymru website, described the raid as a 'Kafkaesque nightmare' during which officers confiscated phones, laptops, and cameras.
