Caution over Neil Heywood death investigation
The death of a British man in China is to be raised by the prime minister in a meeting with a senior Chinese Communist Party official at Downing Street on Tuesday.
Neil Heywood, 41, had lived in China for 10 years. He was found dead on 15 November in a hotel room in the central city of Chongqing.
Chinese officials initially said he had died of "excessive alcohol consumption" and that explanation was at first accepted by Mr Heywood's family and the British embassy. But after friends raised doubts, the British government asked the Chinese authorities to reopen the investigation.
Liberal Democrat MP, Sir Menzies Campbell, questioned why the British authorities did not challenge the official explanation sooner, and warned the results of the Chinese investigation may not be entirely open.
16 Apr 2012
- From the section UK