MP investigated by Labour after husband accused of spying

Labour MP Joani Reid is under investigation by the party after her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.

Reid's spouse, businessman and former Labour adviser David Taylor, is one of three men accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service.

The East Kilbride and Strathaven MP said in a statement that she was not part of her husband's business activities and she had never seen anything to make her suspect he had "broken any law".

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who called the developments "deeply concerning", said Reid had been referred to the party's governance and legal unit and that judgements would be made later on Thursday.

Taylor, along with two men aged 43 and 68, have been released on bail.

He was arrested in London, while the other two men were arrested in Wales.

Counter-terrorism police have searched properties where the men were arrested, as well as other properties in London, East Kilbride and Cardiff.

Asked if Reid should be suspended by the party or step back from her role on Westminster's home affairs committee while the case unfolds, Sarwar said these matters were under consideration by the governance and legal unit.

He told reporters at Holyrood: "This is incredibly serious, deeply concerning, a matter of national security rightly being investigated by the police and that needs to be a thorough investigation so we can get to the bottom of it."

The Scottish Labour leader raised concerns about international interference in politics, adding: "Let's be really clear here, we don't see any kind of indications of donations, for example, that have come to the Scottish Labour Party."

Sarwar said he thought he had attended an event with Taylor's PR company within the last year, but that he did not know the businessman well, and did not have "any kind of relationship" with him.

Following Taylor's arrest, Reid said: "Neither I nor my children are part of this investigation, and we should not be treated by media organisations as though we are."

"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," her statement read.

Reid added that she was a social democrat who believed in "freedom of expression, free trade unions and free elections" and was not any sort of "admirer or apologist for the Chinese Communist party's dictatorship".

Taylor is a former adviser to Welsh Labour politicians and ran as the party's candidate to become North Wales police and crime commissioner.

As first reported by The Herald, Reid's consultancy company, Reid Strategy Limited, has received more than £23,000 in interest-free loans from two of Taylor's businesses.

According to accounts filed for 2022-23, Reid Strategy had received £1,363 from Moblake Limited and £22,030 from Earthcott Ltd, with no set repayment terms. Taylor was the sole director of both companies.

Reid Strategy was wound up last year after Reid was elected to Parliament. She had been paid almost £380,000 by the company since 2024.

Moblake - a construction company - was wound up in 2024 having paid Taylor £605,872, again in the form of an interest-free loan with no repayment terms.

Earthcott - a PR, communications and consultancy firm - has paid Taylor more than £300,000 in dividends, as well as a £30,000 interest-free loan, since being set up in 2021.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by either spouse in relation to these transactions reported to Companies House.

Reid was born in Glasgow but has spent most of her career in London, where she worked as head of policy for the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.

Following in the footsteps of her grandfather - famed trade unionist Jimmy Reid - she sought a career in politics, and was elected as a Labour councillor in Lewisham in 2014.

Reid moved to East Kilbride in 2022 and was elected to Westminster in 2024.

She is a member of the the Commons home affairs committee and has been a vocal supporter of calls for a Scottish grooming gangs inquiry.

Jimmy Reid spearheaded a successful campaign against the closure of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders in 1971.

He stood for Labour in the 1979 election but failed to win the Dundee East seat.

Reid – who died aged 78 in 2010 - went on to became a respected journalist and broadcaster.

He joined the SNP in 2005 after becoming disillusioned with Labour.