By . Amanda Williams, Sam Greenhill and David Williams . PUBLISHED: . 09:40 EST, 6 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 19:42 EST, 6 November 2012 . The Old Harrovian murdered by the wife of a top Chinese politician was spying for Britain after all, it was claimed yesterday. Businessman Neil Heywood,41, was supplying ‘useful’ information to MI6 in the months before he was poisoned, a newspaper has reported. The claim is at odds with William Hague’s attempts to distance the Government from the scandal. Extraordinary report: British businessman Neil Heywood had been providing information to an MI6 officer on top Communist politician Bo Xilai, for at least a year before he died, it has been claimed. Trial: Bo's wife Gu Kailai was given a suspended death sentence in August for poisoning Heywood, 41, with cyanide at a Chongqing hotel. In April, the Foreign Secretary said Mr Heywood was not a government employee ‘in any capacity’. It is a year since Mr Heywood was lured to a hotel in Chongqing, south west China, and given cyanide by Gu Kailai, 53, the lawyer wife of Bo Xilai, who had been tipped as a future leader. Mr Heywood had been friends of the couple for years, after being hired to teach their son English, and had an intimate knowledge of their private affairs. Yesterday’s twist came a few days before the country’s once-in-a-decade change of leadership and could prove damaging to relations with the UK. The report in the Wall Street Journal claims that a person Mr Heywood met in 2009 later acknowledged being an MI6 officer to him. Mr Heywood, who lived in Beijing with his wife and two children, later met that person regularly to pass on information on Mr Bo’s affairs. His death in November 2011 brought down Mr Bo, the former Communist chief of Chongqing, and in August this year his wife was given a suspended death sentence for murder. She claimed Heywood threatened to ‘destroy’ her British-educated son, Bo Guagua, 24, unless he was paid £13million, allegedly commission on a property deal. Mr Bo is expected to be tried for abuse of power and taking bribes.A spokesman for the Foreign Office said it ‘had a long-standing policy that we don’t comment on intelligence matters’. Bo has since been expelled from the party, a move which has stripped him of immunity from prosecution. Mr Heywood's relatives have declined to comment. In a letter to a Richard Ottaway MP on 26 April, Mr Hague moved to end speculation over Mr Heywood. He said that while it was usual government . policy 'neither to confirm nor deny speculation of this sort' that 'given the intense interest in this case it is, . exceptionally, appropriate... to confirm that Mr Heywood was not an . employee of the British government in any capacity ' Bo Xilai, pictured while he was Governor of Liaoning Province. It has been claimed that murdered British businessman Neil Heywood was providing information about Bo to MI6 . The 41-year-old had lived in China from the early 1990s, where he learned fluent Mandarin. One of Heywood's ancestors was Britain's consul general in the northern port city of Tianjin from 1929 to 1935. Chain-smoking Heywood made his living as a mostly self-employed consultant to companies, including the Beijing dealer of Aston Martin, helping them resolve disputes and assisting with due diligence. His grey Jaguar was second-hand, with a license plate ‘N007W3’. He requested and obtained the ‘007’ plate from Beijing traffic authorities as he was a fan of James Bond spy movies and classic sports cars, according to a family friend. Previous reports that he was a spy had been based on the part-time work Heywood had done for Hakluyt, a UK-based private business consultancy founded by former British intelligence officers. The claims were dismissed by family friends at the time. Another source close to the family scoffed at the idea, saying a real spy would hardly advertise the fact by driving around in a car with ‘007’ plates. ‘Who would be so stupid as to carve 007 on his face if he were a real spy?’ the source said. During Gu Kailai's trial it was claimed she killed him over a business deal that went sour. The case first came to light when police chief Wang Lijun fled to the US consulate in February, allegedly after falling out with Mr Bo over the Heywood case. Chinese officials then ordered that an investigation into Mr Heywood's death be reopened. Police had originally said he died of 'over-consumption' of alcohol. Five senior police officers in Chongqing have also been jailed, according to Chinese state media, for covering up the case.
Heywood 'spied on' top Communist politician Bo Xilai, for at least a year before he died, it says .
The 41- year-old , who drove a top of the range Jaguar with a 007 number plate, was poisoned by Bo's wife in November 2011 .
UK Foreign Office said it would not comment 'on intelligence matters' after the claims were made .
By . Amanda Williams, Sam Greenhill and David Williams . PUBLISHED: . 09:40 EST, 6 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 19:42 EST, 6 November 2012 . The Old Harrovian murdered by the wife of a top Chinese politician was spying for Britain after all, it was claimed yesterday. Businessman Neil Heywood,41, was supplying ‘useful’ information to MI6 in the months before he was poisoned, a newspaper has reported. The claim is at odds with William Hague’s attempts to distance the Government from the scandal. Extraordinary report: British businessman Neil Heywood had been providing information to an MI6 officer on top Communist politician Bo Xilai, for at least a year before he died, it has been claimed. Trial: Bo's wife Gu Kailai was given a suspended death sentence in August for poisoning Heywood, 41, with cyanide at a Chongqing hotel. In April, the Foreign Secretary said Mr Heywood was not a government employee ‘in any capacity’. It is a year since Mr Heywood was lured to a hotel in Chongqing, south west China, and given cyanide by Gu Kailai, 53, the lawyer wife of Bo Xilai, who had been tipped as a future leader. Mr Heywood had been friends of the couple for years, after being hired to teach their son English, and had an intimate knowledge of their private affairs. Yesterday’s twist came a few days before the country’s once-in-a-decade change of leadership and could prove damaging to relations with the UK. The report in the Wall Street Journal claims that a person Mr Heywood met in 2009 later acknowledged being an MI6 officer to him. Mr Heywood, who lived in Beijing with his wife and two children, later met that person regularly to pass on information on Mr Bo’s affairs. His death in November 2011 brought down Mr Bo, the former Communist chief of Chongqing, and in August this year his wife was given a suspended death sentence for murder. She claimed Heywood threatened to ‘destroy’ her British-educated son, Bo Guagua, 24, unless he was paid £13million, allegedly commission on a property deal. Mr Bo is expected to be tried for abuse of power and taking bribes.A spokesman for the Foreign Office said it ‘had a long-standing policy that we don’t comment on intelligence matters’. Bo has since been expelled from the party, a move which has stripped him of immunity from prosecution. Mr Heywood's relatives have declined to comment. In a letter to a Richard Ottaway MP on 26 April, Mr Hague moved to end speculation over Mr Heywood. He said that while it was usual government . policy 'neither to confirm nor deny speculation of this sort' that 'given the intense interest in this case it is, . exceptionally, appropriate... to confirm that Mr Heywood was not an . employee of the British government in any capacity ' Bo Xilai, pictured while he was Governor of Liaoning Province. It has been claimed that murdered British businessman Neil Heywood was providing information about Bo to MI6 . The 41-year-old had lived in China from the early 1990s, where he learned fluent Mandarin. One of Heywood's ancestors was Britain's consul general in the northern port city of Tianjin from 1929 to 1935. Chain-smoking Heywood made his living as a mostly self-employed consultant to companies, including the Beijing dealer of Aston Martin, helping them resolve disputes and assisting with due diligence. His grey Jaguar was second-hand, with a license plate ‘N007W3’. He requested and obtained the ‘007’ plate from Beijing traffic authorities as he was a fan of James Bond spy movies and classic sports cars, according to a family friend. Previous reports that he was a spy had been based on the part-time work Heywood had done for Hakluyt, a UK-based private business consultancy founded by former British intelligence officers. The claims were dismissed by family friends at the time. Another source close to the family scoffed at the idea, saying a real spy would hardly advertise the fact by driving around in a car with ‘007’ plates. ‘Who would be so stupid as to carve 007 on his face if he were a real spy?’ the source said. During Gu Kailai's trial it was claimed she killed him over a business deal that went sour. The case first came to light when police chief Wang Lijun fled to the US consulate in February, allegedly after falling out with Mr Bo over the Heywood case. Chinese officials then ordered that an investigation into Mr Heywood's death be reopened. Police had originally said he died of 'over-consumption' of alcohol. Five senior police officers in Chongqing have also been jailed, according to Chinese state media, for covering up the case.
. The Old Harrovian murdered by the wife of a top Communist politician Bo Xilai, for at least a year before he died, it has been claimed. Trial: Foreign Secretary said Mr Heywood was not a in November 2011 brought down Mr Bo, the former comment on intelligence matters’. Bo has since intelligence officers. The claims were dismissed