The mother of a businessman who was found dead in China has said she was horrified to learn that a prominent Chinese politician’s wife is suspected of murdering him.

Ann Heywood, who lives in Streatham, said the news that her 41-year-old son, Neil, may have been killed by Gu Kailai, the wife of communist boss Bo Xilai, had come as a “total shock”.

Mr Heywood, a father-of-two from Kensington, was found dead in a hotel room in the city of Chongquing, southwest China, on November 14 last year.

Official reports at the time attributed the business consultant’s death to alcohol poisoning, but the news of Ms Gu’s arrest has prompted a high-profile investigation into how he died.

Speaking outside her home in Streatham, Mrs Heywood told several national newspapers on Wednesday: “I’m horrified. This has come as a total shock.”

When asked if this was because she had thought her son died of natural causes, she said: “All I want to say is that I’m shocked at the news”, adding the reopening of the case by China was “very interesting”.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who is currently on a tour of Indonesia, said it was “very important” to establish the truth behind the “very disturbing, very tragic case”.

“We asked the Chinese to investigate and are pleased they are doing that,” he said.

Along with Ms Gu, 53, Chinese authorities have also arrested Zhang Xiaojun, an orderly at Mr Bo’s home, on suspicion of Mr Heywood’s murder.

Meanwhile, Mr Bo, 62, has been suspended from the Communist Party and is under investigation for "serious disciplinary violations".

The couple are prominent members of Chinese high society. Mr Heywood is believed to have helped their son, Bo Guagua, get a place at his old school, Harrow, and then at Balliol College, Oxford.

But it is believed Mr Heywood fell out with them over a business dispute and relations soured in 2010.

Friends of the businessman said today, April 12, he told them shortly before his death he was “in trouble” and had been summoned to Chongqing by representatives of Mr Bo’s family.

Ms Gu remains in custody pending an investigation.