Neil Heywood

In the 2019 film The Laundromat, Heywood (renamed Neil Maywood) was portrayed by actor Matthias Schoenaerts.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Gu Kailai testified Heywood was murdered because he demanded £1.4 million in compensation for the return of a half-share of ownership of a £2 million house – originally bought by Gu in 2000 – in the hills overlooking Cannes. The court heard Heywood had blackmailed the family and threatened to expose their corrupt ownership of a villa in the French Riviera. As Heywood's relationship with the Bo–Gu family descended into acrimony, Gu stated that Heywood had threatened the safety of Bo's 25-year-old son, Guagua.

Soon after Heywood's death (6 February 2012), Wang fled to the US consulate in Chengdu, and allegedly told US diplomats of Heywood having been poisoned, and Bo's family was involved in corruption. The incident precipitated Bo's high-profile sacking two weeks later. According to a reinvestigation by the Chinese authorities, evidence indicates Heywood having been murdered, with Gu Kailai, Bo Xilai's wife, and Zhang Xiaojun, an orderly at Bo's home, of being "highly suspected", according to Xinhua News. On 26 July 2012, Gu Kailai was charged with the murder of Heywood and in August was convicted of the crime.

In February 2012, Wang fled to the US consulate in Chengdu, precipitating the so-called Wang Lijun incident. On 14 March 2012, the Dalian-based billionaire Xu Ming, a close associate of Bo, disappeared. It was speculated that he was under arrest. Reports suggest Heywood's wife was employed by Xu. On 15 March 2012, Bo was removed from his post of party chief for Chongqing.

On 10 April 2012, Bo was suspended from the Politburo and suspected of being involved in "serious disciplinary violations". The same day, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said that, according to the reinvestigation, the evidence indicated Heywood was a victim of homicide, of which Bo Xilai's wife, Gu Kailai, and Zhang Xiaojun, her bodyguard, were "strongly suspected". Bo was placed under house arrest in Beijing. Gu and Zhang were both arrested.

The Communist Party chief in Nan'an, Xia Zeliang, was detained for questioning in April 2012; the official was a staunch ally of Bo. He was arrested and allegedly confessed that he prepared the poison and handed it to an employee of Bo.

On 13 April 2012, Heywood's widow, Wang Lulu, visited the British Embassy in Beijing, and asked for a visa to travel to the UK with her two young children, reportedly concerned that the people who had killed her husband might come after her and her family. The entrance to the family's gated compound in Beijing was manned by troops from the People's Liberation Army, and police ordered her not to communicate with international journalists.

According to The Daily Telegraph of 17 April 2012, UK Prime Minister David Cameron would meet Chinese publicity department head Li Changchun to discuss the Heywood case. The Boxun website reported that Bo's most influential supporter, the 9th ranking Politburo Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang, was forced to make "tearful self-confessions" to Hu Jintao.

On 26 July 2012, Gu Kailai was charged with the murder of Neil Heywood. On 9 August 2012, the trial of Gu was held and lasted only one day, as the defendant did not contest the charges. The same day, four policemen, all senior officers from Chongqing, where the UK businessman was killed, were formally accused of covering up the murder of Heywood and indicted.

On 20 August 2012, the verdict was announced. Gu was sentenced to death but the sentence was suspended, which means that Gu is likely to face from 14 years to life in jail, as long as she does not commit any additional offences in the next two years. Zhang Xiaojun, a Bo family aide, was sentenced to nine years in jail for his involvement in the murder, which he admitted to.

Rumors that Heywood might have been employed as an agent by MI6 have been denied by Foreign Secretary William Hague, an unusual move, as the British government typically refuses to comment on the identity of its agents. The Wall Street Journal later reported they had confirmed, after interviewing former and current British officials and others, that Heywood had since 2009 been regularly supplying information to MI6, although he was not an MI6 employee.

Following a corruption investigation in 2007, Gu is said to have become increasingly paranoid. In 2010, she allegedly asked Heywood and other close associates to divorce their spouses and swear allegiance to her.

Heywood had business links with Gu Kailai, the wife of Bo Xilai. He reportedly met with the Bo family in Dalian, the northeast metropolis where Bo was mayor from 1994 to 2000. Heywood was then working at a Dalian English-language school, and helped Bo's youngest son gain admission to Harrow. The Daily Telegraph reports that Heywood and Gu "shared a long and close personal relationship, but were not romantically involved."

Neil Heywood (20 October 1970 – 14 November 2011) was an English businessman who worked in China. He was associated with Bo Xilai (the former Communist Party of China Committee Secretary for Chongqing, and a member of the Chinese Politburo).

Born in 1970, Heywood attended Harrow, an independent school for boys. He graduated in international relations from the University of Warwick.