Aide in Beijing spy declare held assembly with China minister earlier than police swoop

A Labour adviser suspected of spying for Beijing held a meeting with the Government’s China minister in the Foreign Office shortly before his arrest, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

David Taylor, who is being held on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, met Seema Malhotra in her Whitehall office to help her to prepare for a speech she gave in January at his Asia House think-tank.

On Saturday night, a Foreign Office source confirmed that Ms Malhotra had met Mr Taylor in her office with other Asia House representatives. 

But it was stressed that Ms Malhotra had requested that her office be swept for bugs before and after the ‘recent events’ relating to Mr Taylor.

The source added that at no point had Ms Malhotra – minister for the Indo-Pacific and minister for equalities – been alone with the Labour adviser.

Sources also said that they had not discussed the controversial proposal for a new Chinese ‘super embassy’ in London – dubbed a ‘spy dungeon’.

Mr Taylor, the husband of Labour MP Joani Reid, was among three men arrested on Wednesday as part of a wider investigation into national security offences related to China.

All three were released on bail.

David Taylor (pictured, with his Labour MP wife, Joani Reid), who is being held on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, met Seema Malhotra in her Whitehall office to help her to prepare for a speech she gave in January at his Asia House think-tank 

On Saturday night, a Foreign Office source confirmed that Ms Malhotra (pictured) had met Mr Taylor in her office with other Asia House representatives

But it was stressed that Ms Malhotra had requested that her office be swept for bugs before and after the ‘recent events’ relating to Mr Taylor. Pictured: File photo of the Foreign Office 

Mr Taylor, a former special adviser to the Labour peer Peter Hain when he was the secretary of state for Wales, is a lobbyist and the director of policy and programmes at his think-tank.

In her speech to Asia House in January, Ms Malhotra advocated engagement with China, saying: ‘It is important that we co-operate where we can, challenge where we must and compete where we have different interests… choosing not to engage with China is no choice at all’.

In response to the arrests, the Chinese embassy condemned what it described as attempts to ‘fabricate facts and concoct so-called ‘espionage cases’ to maliciously slander China’, adding that it had lodged a formal protest with the British Government.

Ms Reid, who resigned the Labour whip on Thursday while an internal party investigation is carried out, 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.’ 

The arrests have led the Tories to redouble their calls for China to be prevented from building the biggest diplomatic base in Europe on the site of the old Royal Mint, close to underground fibre-optic cables carrying sensitive financial information.

This newspaper also understands that earlier this month the director general of Mi5 Sir Ken McCallum gave a cross-party briefing in the secretive Cobra bunker underneath Downing Street to warn about the risks of foreign interference.

In remarks which have been interpreted by some sources as a ‘shot across the bows of Reform’, Sir Ken offered to ‘vet’ all the parties’ potential candidates in the national interest. 

Questions were also raised about cryptocurrency donations. 

Mr Taylor, the husband of Labour MP Joani Reid, was among three men arrested on Wednesday as part of a wider investigation into national security offences related to China. All three were released on bail. Pictured: Matthew Aplin, left, and Steve Jones, right, who were the other two men arrested

The arrests have led the Tories to redouble their calls for China to be prevented from moving forward with proposals for the biggest diplomatic base in Europe on the site of the old Royal Mint (pictured, file photo), close to underground fibre-optic cables carrying sensitive financial information

Reform UK is the only political party to accept crypto donations – other parties refuse to accept the funds because of possible links to money laundering.

Reform’s record-breaking £9million donation from British-Thai crypto-tycoon Christopher Harborne last year was provided in the form of crypto-currency. 

There is no suggestion he is linked to money laundering.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman added: ‘It would not be appropriate to comment on a live police investigation.’