David Cameron offers British help to China's police

British diplomats knew of suspicions over the death of a British businessman in China for a month before ministers decided to press the Chinese authorities to investigate the case, the Foreign Office disclosed on Tuesday.

Britain asked the Chinese to investigate the death of Neil Heywood only after a senior Chinese official raised doubts about it with American diplomats.

The disclosure prompted criticism of the Foreign Office from MPs, who suggested that Britain had been too cautious in its initial response to the 41-year-old's death in Chongqing in November.

The Foreign Office said it was now reviewing its procedures on responding to the deaths of British nationals abroad. Heywood was an associate of Bo Xilai, the disgraced Chinese politician. An Old Harrovian, he is said to have helped secure a place at his old school for Bo's son, Bo Guagua.

He died in a Chongqing hotel in November. The Chinese authorities initially attributed his death to accidental over-drinking, but Bo's wife has now been accused of helping to kill Heywood amid reports of a row over money.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, yesterday gave MPs a detailed timetable of Heywood's death and the British response.

It revealed that Foreign Office officials were "first made aware of rumours within the British expatriate community in China that there may have been suspicious circumstances surrounding Heywood's death" on January 18. Concerns about the case were not raised with ministers until the following month.

The trigger for that move was a visit to a US consulate by Wang Lijun, Bo's deputy, where he made "allegations" about Heywood's death.

Prompted by those allegations, British officials informed Hague about the case and the concern that Heywood may have been murdered.

He immediately ordered a British request to the Chinese authorities for a full investigation.

The request was made four times to different Chinese officials over the following weeks, but the Chinese announced an inquiry only in April.

Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat leader, said the timeline suggested that British officials had been "over-cautious" in their initial response to Heywood's death. "When a British citizen dies in these circumstances, surely that should immediately put the British authorities on to asking questions? If it were not for the actions of Wang in visiting the US consulate, we might never have known of any of this."

Mark Hendrick, the chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on China, said ministers had been "too timid" in their approach to the Chinese authorities over the case.

"This seems to have been left to fester for too long," he said. "Why has it taken until April for this information to be made public? The impression is that the government wanted to keep secret the fact that it had asked for an inquiry.

"No one wants to be on the wrong side of a rising power like China, but this is about the death of a British national so you would hope ministers would be more assertive."

This week, it emerged that Jeremy Browne, a Foreign Office minister, had been in Chongqing days after Heywood's death and cremation, but had not been informed of the case by local officials.

In his statement, Hague said ministers "are not routinely told about the death of British nationals or other consular cases as they are so numerous". However, he added: "We need to make sure that they are told in relevant cases and we will review our procedures."

There are concerns that the investigation into Heywood's death is a political move against Bo rather than a full inquiry into the facts.

David Cameron yesterday urged one of China's most senior officials to ensure a full and independent inquiry and offered British assistance with the investigation.

Li Changchun, a member of the Politburo, did not accept the offer of help.

Hague told MPs: "We now wish to see the conclusion of a full investigation that observes due process, is free from political interference, exposes the truth behind this tragic case, and ensures that justice is done."