Secret Agent Man

Report: Neil Heywood Had MI6 Ties

Businessman murdered in China reported on Bo Xilai.

The drama of Neil Heywood, the British businessman killed in China last November, gets more and more complicated. Reports surfaced on Tuesday that Heywood, who lived in China and was in Bo Xilai's inner circle, served MI6, the British spy agency, as a regular informant on the Chinese politician. Heywood reportedly was not specifically tasked with anything and was not paid—and was not an officer in the British intelligence organization. Despite his lack of formal ties, this revelation could explain quite a bit about the murder case, particularly in casting light on the long-elusive motivation behind Heywood's murder.