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A Labour MP has broken her silence after her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.

Joani Reid said “I am not part of my husband’s business activities” after David Taylor was arrested by counter-terrorism police.

Mr Taylor, 39, was amongst three men arrested on suspicion of assisting a Chinese intelligence agency.

And Labour MP Ms Reid, who sits on Parliament’s Home Affairs Select Committee, said: “I have never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law.

“I am not part of my husband’s business activities and neither I nor my children are part of this investigation, and we should not be treated by media organisations as though we are. Above all I expect media organisations to respect my children’s privacy.”

The East Kilbride and Strathaven MP added: “I have never been to China. I have never spoken on China or China related matters in the Commons. I have never asked a question on China-related matters.

“As far as I am aware I have never met any Chinese businesses whilst I have been an MP, any Chinese diplomats or government employees, nor raised any concern with ministers or anyone else on behalf of, even coincidentally, Chinese interests.

“I am a social democrat who believes in freedom of expression, free trade unions and free elections. I am not any sort of admirer or apologist for the Chinese Communist party’s dictatorship.”

Mr Taylor is the head of programmes at the Asia House think tank, which tries to boost ties between Asia and Europe. He is understood to have worked for energy companies as a lobbyist and as a government special adviser in the Wales Office under the previous New Labour government.

The Metropolitan Police said a 39-year-old man was arrested in London, a 68-year-old man in Powys, mid-Wales, and a 43-year-old man in Pontyclun, South Wales.

They were detained on Wednesday on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section three of the National Security Act, 2023.

Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: “We have seen a significant increase in our casework relating to national security in recent years, and we continue to work extremely closely with our partners to help keep the country safe and take action to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it.

“Today’s arrests are part of a proactive investigation and while these are serious matters, we do not believe there to be any imminent or direct threat to the public relating to this. Our investigation continues, and we thank the public for their ongoing support.”

Matt Western, the chairman of the joint committee on the National Security Strategy, warned that Britain was “going to see many, many more cases potentially such as this, where there is this evidence of intelligence gathering undertaken by the Chinese as they seek to undermine our democracy and political system.”

Security Minister Dan Jarvis hinted Beijing has attempted to interfere with UK democracy, as he warned increasing pattern of covert activity from Chinese state-linked actors.”

He added: “This involves attempts to obtain information on UK policy-making and interfere with our sovereign affairs.”

The revelations will spark a fresh crisis for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who has been accused of being weak on China.

Mr Jarvis told MPs: “Let me be clear, if there is proven evidence of attempts by China to interfere with UK sovereign affairs, we will impose severe consequences and hold all actors involved to account.

“The Government is taking robust action to ensure the UK’s democratic institutions and processes are a hard target for this activity.

“The National Security Act provides our intelligence agencies and law enforcement with the modern legal tools they need to deter, detect and disrupt the full range of state threats.

“The action counter-terrorism police have been able to take this morning is an example that that legislation is working well.”

Leading China hawk Luke de Pulford told the Daily Express: “Another month, another China spying scandal. Yet ludicrously, our biggest security threat, China, still isn’t in the top tier of our foreign influence laws. We can’t continue to have our cake and eat it with Beijing. The longer we self censor for fear of upsetting Beijing, the more we imperil UK security interests.”

Shadow Security Minister Alicia Kearns said: “This is the inevitable outcome when espionage is conducted without accountability.

“There have still been no repercussions for the Chinese Communist Party putting a spy in Parliament. Why? Ask the Government who must answer for their abject failure to act, and therefore to deter future attacks on our democracy.”

Reform’s Zia Yusuf added: “A Labour MP’s partner has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China.

“Why did Starmer grant approval for a Chinese super-embassy right on top of national critical comms infrastructure?

“Why did Mandelson’s lobbying firm win a lucrative contract with a firm connected with the Chinese military?

“Why did a Labour MP receive donations from a Chinese spy and employ that spy’s family in his office? Starmer needs to come clean.”

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said: “Here we are again, another year, another Chinese spy scandal, and the backdrop to it is this Government’s failed policy of appeasement.

“The Government must now surely be coming to the realisation that unless the United Kingdom stands up to these threats, our country will continue to be treated with disdain.”

Mr Burghart highlighted the bungled prosecution of two suspected spies and the recent approval of the Chinese mega-embassy in central London.

He added: “We in this House watched as these things happen, and the Chinese state watched too and saw that it could act with impunity. The minister says there is no trade-off between our democratic and national interests, and security interests, and our economic interests. But I’m afraid that is exactly what has happened.”

Mr Jarvis told MPs that it “continues to be in our long-term strategic interest to engage with China”.

He said: “We are engaging with China confidently and pragmatically on areas where engagement is in the UK’s national interest: climate, global health, trade, scientific research, but also on illegal migration and serious organised crime, just to name a few areas.

“But let me be crystal clear, this is not a question of balancing economic and security considerations.

“We don’t trade off security for economic access. Instead, by taking tough steps to keep us secure, we enable ourselves to co-operate in other areas, and we will always challenge any country, including China, that attempts to interfere with or undermine the integrity of our democratic institutions, and we will always prioritise UK national security.”