Labour MP Joani Reid has separated from her husband David Taylor, who is accused of spying for China and was arrested in March. The split occurred "for some time" before Reid's readmission to the Labour party on June 30, with sources stating that it was unrelated to the Met Police's investigation or allegations of Reid's flirtations with naval officers. According to friends, Reid removed her wedding ring after the separation, describing this decision as one of the most difficult she has made. Reid is reportedly in a new relationship with a married man, a "high-profile Holyrood figure", who was photographed accompanying her to an event at her constituency flat in July.
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A Labour MP has split from her husband who is alleged to have spied for China, the Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal.
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Mail → see → Sunday
Joani Reid, MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, has separated from her lobbyist husband David Taylor.
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Reid → separate → husband
Mr Taylor was arrested on suspicion of espionage in March.
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Taylor → arrest → March
Ms Reid made headlines earlier this year when allegations were made that she behaved inappropriately with two naval officers based at nuclear military base Faslane, near Helensburgh.
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she → make → Helensburgh
News of the marriage breakdown comes as photos and videos show her attending events without wearing her wedding ring.
Meanwhile, she is reportedly is in a new relationship with a married man, with the pair pictured going to her flat in her constituency.
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pair → come → constituency
Sources close to the couple say they have been separated ‘for some time’ and insisted the split was unrelated to the Met Police’s spying probe or the MP’s alleged flirtations with two naval officers at Faslane.
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split → say → Faslane
Her decision to remove her wedding ring is said by close friends to have been ‘one of the most difficult decisions’ the MP had to make.
Labour MP Joani Reid and her estranged husband David Taylor in happier times
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MP → remove → times
A source close to the couple said: ‘They’ve split up, it happened a while ago now.
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it → say → couple
Things hadn’t been great between them for quite some time but they have children together so are very much still in each other’s lives.
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they → have → lives
'People close to her know what’s going on, and they are looking at a divorce.’
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they → know → divorce
A friend of Ms Reid added: ‘Deciding to remove her wedding ring has been one of the most difficult decisions she’s had to make.
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she → add → decisions
It isn’t something she did lightly, but they have separated and she felt she had to do it.’
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she → do → it
Ms Reid, the granddaughter of the late trade unionist Jimmy Reid, was photographed with a married man, said to be a ‘high profile Holyrood figure’ going to a flat in her constituency in July, the day before she was readmitted to the Labour party.
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she → photograph → party
They are also said to have met twice last month.
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They → say → ?
Friends claim the relationship had not been going on for long and began after her split from Mr Taylor.
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relationship → claim → Taylor
The MP had suspended herself from Labour following her husband’s arrest in March, while the party conducted its own investigation.
But the 40-year-old was readmitted on June 30, and took to social media to announce her reinstatement.
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old → suspend → reinstatement
Ms Reid quietly removed her wedding ring on her return to the Labour party, with images on her social media clearly showing her without it.
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images → remove → it
On June 29, Ms Reid hosted an Armed Forces Day event at the East Kilbride British Legion while wearing the silver ring.
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Reid → host → ring
But on trips around the constituency the following month she appeared to be missing the jewellery.
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she → appear → jewellery
Ms Reid attended events without her wedding ring in July and August
A photograph on July 15 show Ms Reid at a local business without her wedding ring, while another on August 13 she spoke to constituents in East Kilbride town centre again without the accessory.
On August 26 she posted a video in support of Stonehouse by-election candidate Hannah Miller on Instagram, where she is clearly seen not wearing her ring.
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she → attend → ring
The turmoil for Ms Reid comes after her husband’s arrest on March 4 on suspicion of spying for China.
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turmoil → come → China
Mr Taylor, 39, was arrested alongside two other Labour-linked men during a probe by counter-terror police.
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Taylor → arrest → police
Officers searched Ms Reid’s home in East Kilbride, as well as properties in London and Cardiff in March and arrested the men.
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Officers → search → men
They were subsequently bailed and have not been charged with an offence.
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They → bail → offence
The latest development comes after Ms Reid was alleged to have behaved inappropriately with two naval officers based at Faslane in separate incidents since her election to parliament in 2024.
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Reid → come → 2024
The MP was claimed to have been drinking during a visit to the nuclear deterrent base as part of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme (AFPS) - which aims to educate MPs about military life – and was said to have behaved inappropriately towards one officer during the trip.
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which → claim → trip
Ms Reid denied any wrongdoing and said the claims had been a political smear.
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claims → deny → wrongdoing
Separately a nuclear submarine captain stepped back from his role in April after being investigated for his alleged relationship with Ms Reid.
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captain → step → Reid
The East Kilbride and Strathaven MP was wearing her ring in June
The Royal Navy launched a probe last year in response to claims that the senior military officer - who is married - had been involved in an inappropriate relationship with the MP.
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who → wear → MP
The pair were claimed to have exchanged flirtatious messages, which the MP has denied.
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MP → claim → which
An investigation the Royal Navy is reported to have found the officer had not breached any rules.
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officer → report → rules
The incident was re-examined following the arrest of Ms Reid’s husband but the Ministry of Defence was reported to have been confident there was no breach of security.
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Ministry → re → security
The captain involved said he had decided to step down for personal reasons and had not left the Royal Navy.
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he → involve → Navy
Ms Reid did not want to comment when approached by the Mail on Sunday.
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Reid → want → Sunday
