UK police arrest three men on suspicion of spying for China

Husband of a lawmaker from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ruling Labour Party among those arrested, local media report.Published On 4 Mar 2026British police have arrested three men suspected of spying for China, including the husband of a lawmaker from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ruling Labour Party, local media reported.London’s Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday that the three men had allegedly assisted a foreign intelligence service, in violation of the country’s National Security Act of 2023, which was introduced to grant additional powers to tackle foreign interference.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3New CIA recruitment video targets Chinese military personnellist 2 of 3Analyst says interest in Epstein files plummeted after war on Iran launchedlist 3 of 3Is the CIA planning to arm Kurdish forces to spark an uprising in Iran?end of listWhile the police did not name those who have been detained, as they are yet to be charged, they said they included a 39-year-old man arrested in London, a 68-year-old man arrested in Powys, Wales, and a 43-year-old man arrested in Pontyclun, Wales.Following reports by The Times and the Telegraph that the husband of Joani Reid, the Labour lawmaker for the East Kilbride area in Wales, was among those arrested, she issued a statement saying she had “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,” the statement said.“I have never been to China. I have never spoken on China or China-related matters in the [House of] Commons,” it added, without naming her husband, David Taylor, a former Labour Party adviser who is 39 years old.In recent years, China and the United Kingdom have traded spying accusations, straining the relations between the two countries.In a statement, the Chinese embassy in London condemned what it called attempts to “fabricate facts and concoct so-called ‘espionage cases’ to maliciously slander China”, and said it had lodged a protest with the British side.