Who is David Taylor and what has he been accused of?
Who is David Taylor, the husband of a Labour MP who was arrested this week on suspicion of spying for China?
A partner of a former Labour MP has been released on bail, having been accused, alongside two others, of spying on the UK for China.
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East Kilbride and Strathaven representative Joani Reid has resigned from the party after her husband David Taylor was arrested earlier this week.
Mr Taylor, 39, was arrested, along with Matthew Aplin, 43, and Steve Jones, 68, on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service.
Labour has said that the issue is being taken “seriously”.
Ms Reid is now sitting in the Commons as an independent, having been elected as part of the Labour election win in July 2024.
She said in a statement: "This week has been the worst of my life. The shock of recent days has been difficult for me and my family.
"I am not under investigation by the police and no accusations have been against me. I have done nothing wrong.
"I am voluntarily suspending myself from the whip and will not sit as a Labour MP until internal investigations are concluded. I will welcome and co-operate with any questions and worries the party may have."
Ms Reid added that she has never been to China nor completed any China-related lobbying or even spoken about the country while in the Commons.
But who is her husband, David Taylor?
Who is David Taylor?
David Taylor, 39, is married to the Labour MP Joani Reid and was arrested in March under the National Security Act alongside three others on suspicion of spying for China.
Mr Taylor should not be confused with the Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead, also called David Taylor.
He is instead a former advisor to Welsh Labour politicians and once ran to be the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales in 2016, but was beaten in a final run-off against Arfon Jones, of Plaid Cymru.
That same year, it has been revealed, he went to Nepal with Princess Beatrice. The trip was organised by the Franks Family Foundation, a charity of which Beatrice is a patron. There is no suggestion that Beatrice knew anything of Mr Taylor’s alleged activities.
More recently, in September 2024, he was appointed as head of programmes at the Asia House think tank.
Investigations are ongoing following his arrest in London on Wednesday. Police searched his address as well as the properties of two other men arrested as part of the same investigation, Matthew Aplin, 43, and Steve Jones, 68.
All three have been bailed until May when the next stage of proceedings is set to begin.
Mr Taylor has two children with Ms Reid.
Following his arrest, she vowed that she "had never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law”.
“I am not any sort of admirer or apologist for the Chinese Communist Party’s dictatorship,” she added.
On Mr Taylor, a Labour Party spokesperson said: "These are incredibly serious allegations. We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing."