China urged to probe suspicious death of Briton who had links to purged Communist Party anti-corruption crusader
- Friends fear consultant, 41, was deliberately poisoned
- Near tee totaller's death by 'excess alcohol' doubted
- Neil Heywood credited with getting security chief Bo Xilai's son place at Harrow and Oxford
- Chinese mafia-busting campaigner now accused of abusing position
Conspiracy: China has been urged to probe speculation that Neil Heywood was poisoned
The Foreign Office has asked China to probe the sudden death of a Briton who had close links to a controversial high-ranking Communist Party official.
Neil Heywood, 41, died last November and Chinese officials claimed his death was caused by excessive drinking.
But his concerned friends and other members of the British community in the south western metropolis of Chongqing fear he may have been deliberately poisoned.
'Members of the expat community became suspicious about Mr Heywood’s death in Chongqing and contacted British consular staff.
'There were also numerous rumours, and because of the concern and repeated speculation, we recently asked the Chinese authorities to look into the case,' a Foreign Office spokesman told the Daily Mail.
Mr Heywood was described today by 'shocked' acquaintances as a near tee totaller and in good health.
Mr Heywood had a strong business relationship with Chongqing party secretary Bo Xilai and his family for over a decade.
Mr Bo was a rising political star tipped for a leadership place - but he was sensationally purged earlier this month in a scandal that has shaken the ruling Communist Party.
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Mr Heywood, whose official Chinese medical records claim he died from 'excessive alcohol consumption', also had a business relationship with Mr Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai.
Believed to have been married to Chinese national, Mr Heywood was cremated in Chongqing.
Accusations: Bo Xilai, centre, is said to have used his anti-corruption campaign to attack business rivals of his wife Gu Kailai, left
His family and British consular staff said at the time they were satisfied with the Chinese coroner’s initial findings.
But countless rumours and speculation, fuelled by Chinese online whistle blowers, claimed his death is linked to his professional relationship with the Bo family.
Mr Bo was purged two weeks ago, reportedly for trying to stop a criminal investigation involving his wife - a probe ordered by his former police chief and right hand man, Wang Lijun.
Together, Mr Bo and Mr Wang became popular for a mafia-busting crusade to clean up the Chongqing city-municipality - which has a population of 32 million - of corrupt officials and business chiefs colluding with gangsters.
But Mr Wang fled to the U.S. consulate in nearby Chengdu in early February after Mr Bo reacted angrily to his investigation involving his wife, it has since been claimed.
Favours: Mr Heywood is said to have helped the Bos' secure top British public school berths for their son, Bo Guagua, centre
Access: Mr Bo's son Bi Guagua, seen here on the right with action movie star Jackie Chan, left, won places at Harrow and Oxford
Prestigious: Mr Heywood's exact involvement in getting Bo Guagua, centre, into the top education institutions has not yet been confirmed
FRAMING VICTIMS, TORTURE AND EXTORTION: THE OTHER VIEW OF ORGANISED CRIME CRACKDOWN
Dismissed Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai had built a national reputation as a crusader against organised crime and corruption among China's elite.
But now a very different picture of his mafia-busting initiative — called da hei, or smash black — is emerging, since Mr. Bo was fired last month after a scandal involving his police chief Wang Lijun.
Critics called his clampdown, launched in 2009, the 'red terror', saying state security apparatus were allowed to act with impunity: framing victims, extracting confessions through torture, extorting business empires and visiting retribution on Mr Bo's political rivals.
Cheng Li, an analyst of the Chinese leadership at the Brookings Institution, told the New York Times: ‘Even by Chinese Communist Party standards, this is unacceptable.’ He added: ‘This is red terror.’
In 10 months, 4,781 people were arrested, including business executives, police officers, judges, legislators and others accused of running or protecting criminal syndicates, according to the New York Times.
Chongqing’s top justice official was even found to have buried $3 million under a fish pond, during the crackdown.
He became one of 13 da hei defendants to be executed.
But Mr Bo's spectacular fall from grace was sparked when his enforcer, police chief Wang Lijun last month sought refuge in a United States consulate.
He apparently feared for his safety after telling Mr Bo that his family was linked to an inquiry into the death of a British citizen, Neil Heywood, who was an acquaintance of Mr Bo’s family.
Mr Wang asked U.S. diplomats for asylum but was coaxed out of the consulate after 12 hours by Chinese security officials and flown under guard to Beijing where he is being held in a secure government compound.
Speculation is rife that the investigation into Mr Bo’s wife, which took place shortly after Mr Heywood’s death, led to Mr Wang’s attempted flight to the U.S.
His failed escape bid brought down his boss who was destined for a seat on the all powerful Politburo Standing Committee in the autumn.
It is understood Mr Heywood helped arrange business meetings with Mr Bo when he was a government minister in the Ministry of Commerce in the capital, Beijing.
It is also claimed Mr Heywood helped the Bos’ secure top British public school berths for their son, Bo Guagua, who studied at Harrow and Oxford, though this cannot be confirmed.
Mr Bo is the 'princeling' son of a celebrated communist revolutionary.
His crime-busting policies and calls for a return to Chairman Mao’s socialist 'red' culture caused upset among modernisers in Beijing, with many claiming he used his anti-corruption dragnet to lock up political opponents.
However, his hardline policies found support among the Chinese public who are angry at the widening rich-poor gap.
Mr Wang’s dash to the U.S. embassy caused extreme embarrassment for Beijing, however - more so as the Party was preparing to stage its annual National People’s Congress ahead of the once in a decade change of leadership, which takes place later in the autumn.
Last week, reports of an attempted coup inside the secure government compound in Beijing made headlines, with claims that Mr Bo’s supporters - among them nationalistic PLA generals - were battling it out with Party modernisers, including Chinese president in waiting, Xi Jinping, who moved to sack him.
'I am not aware of this case,' a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing said.
Power: Chinese paramilitary police patrol the grounds of the Communist Party provincial head office in Chongqing which was the office of Bo Xilai
Purged: Allegations that the wife of Chongqing leader Bo Xilai (above) may have been behind Mr Heywood's death given an insight into events that forced him from office
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