Briton murdered in China fed tips to British intelligence

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - A British businessman murdered in China in a high-profile case of political intrigue was an informal source of information for Britain's foreign intelligence agency, MI6, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The sources confirmed the substance of a news report earlier on Tuesday alleging that UK businessman Neil Heywood, who died under suspicious circumstances a year ago in the Chinese city of Chongqing, had been in contact with MI6 and had been a "willful and knowing informant".

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity, reiterated public denials by top British government officials that Mr Heywood had ever been an MI6 staff officer.

In an April letter to a member of Parliament, William Hague, Britain's foreign secretary, declared that "Mr Heywood was not an employee of the British government in any capacity."