Disgraced Chinese leader’s wife linked to British man’s murder

State media is reporting Chinese police have reopened the investigation into the death of Neil Heywood after finding evidence implicating Bo Xilai's wife, Gu Kailai.

In revelations likely to reshape leadership succession plans, Bo has now been banished from the party's Central Committee and its Politburo, effectively ending the career of China's most controversial politician.

The official Xinhua news agency confirmed his wife had been implicated in the death of businessman Neil Heywood, who was found dead in a hotel room in Chongqing last November.

"Comrade Bo Xilai is suspected of being involved in serious disciplinary violations," the news agency said, citing a decision by the central party leadership.

Bo was party chief in the sprawling southwestern municipality of Chongqing until he was dismissed in March as a scandal surrounding him unfolded.

The agency added: "Police set up a team to reinvestigate the case of the British national Neil Heywood who was found dead in Chongqing.

"According to the reinvestigation results, the existing evidence indicates Heywood died of homicide, of which Gu Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun, an assistant in Bo's household, are highly suspected."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague welcomed the relaunch of the investigation.

"The Chinese are doing as we asked them to do and we now look forward to seeing those investigations take place and in due course hearing the outcome of those investigations," he told Sky News.

The announcements are the latest dramatic turns in the scandal over Bo and his family that emerged after his vice mayor, Wang Lijun, fled into a US consulate for 24 hours in February.

Wang's flight triggered a series of revelations and allegations, including questions about the death of the British businessman close to Bo's family.