He’s no traitor, say family of Rolls-Royce engineer who ‘stole RAF secrets for China’
THE family of a former Rolls Royce engineer suspected of spying for China said yesterday that they cannot believe the evangelical Christian is a traitor.
Bryn Jones, 73, was held over fears that top secret details of the RAF’s £100million F-35B stealth fighter jet had been passed to Beijing.
His daughter, Jean Harlow, said: ‘He is not political. I’ve never heard him discuss politics – and he doesn’t even speak any Chinese languages.’
Mr Jones was held by Scotland Yard under the Official Secrets Act after MI5 was tipped off about the alleged leak.
Investigators suspect Chinese spies want valuable blueprints of the most advanced fighting jet in British history.
But Mrs Harlow, 47, said her father – who has a visiting professorship at a Chinese university – would never consider betraying his country.
She said: ‘I’m devastated. He’s not the kind of person to do anything like this. I just can’t believe he would do this. I can’t understand how this has just happened. We hope and pray it’s a false alarm.
‘He’s never said anything to me about his work. I know he has been working with the university in China for some years. My Mum usually goes with him.’
Mr Jones was arrested on Tuesday afternoon. Detectives spent hours searching the £400,000 detached house in Belper, Derbyshire, he shares with his wife of 49 years, Dorothy, 75, a retired midwife.
Neighbours said officers searched the four-bedroom home and removed computer equipment and memory sticks.
Police also raided a West Midlands location, believed to be the specialist jet engine firm he runs.
Yesterday, Mr Jones declined to comment after being released on bail, saying, ‘OK bye,’ when contacted by telephone.
He is one of the world’s leading experts on gas turbine combustion, having risen through the ranks at Rolls-Royce to become chief combustion technologist during a 37-year career, and launching his own consultancy.
In 2013, he won a prize for his ‘life-long contribution’ to his field from the Institute of Physics.
He holds the role of visiting professor in gas turbine combustion at the Aeronautical University of Xian in central China.
Relatives said he visited the country at least once a year and often welcomed Chinese visitors to his home. Mrs Harlow, a care assistant in an old people’s home from Alfreton, Derbyshire, said her father – who adopted her – was a ‘quiet man who is dedicated to his work’ and was ‘quite strict’.
Mr Jones’s brother-in-law, Geoffrey Knowles, 66, from Hyde, Greater Manchester, said he was the ‘last sort of person one would expect to be caught up in something like this’, adding: ‘I would have thought Bryn would have been assiduous in making sure he didn’t reveal anything he wasn’t supposed to.’
Nathan Clarke, pastor at Ashbourne Baptist Church in Derbyshire, said Mr Jones had been a member of the congregation for almost a decade – attending services most weeks with his wife. ‘I value him as a friend and would say he’s very trustworthy and reliable,’ he said.
‘I’m pretty sure his arrest will turn out to be a mistake. He and his wife are very involved in the church, and are very loving, kind and generous.
‘He didn’t really talk much about his work, but I understand he was involved with a charity working on exporting engines to poorer countries.’
A former neighbour described Mr Jones as a ‘decent, straight guy who’s not interested in money’, adding: ‘He’s such a clever man, but in other respects he can be a forgetful sort.
‘He’s the kind who will forget his passport when going on holiday or on a business trip, or maybe the phone number at home.
‘If he has revealed something he shouldn’t have done, then he would not have been aware he was doing it – he would have been tricked or manipulated somehow.
‘I just can’t see him being involved in something like this.’
The police inquiry centres on fears over Rolls-Royce’s top secret work on the stealth fighter jet, which only arrived in Britain last week. With a top speed of 1,200mph, a 1,300-mile range and the ability to fly undetected by radar, it has been hailed as ‘the most advanced and dynamic’ fighter in British history.
It carries an arsenal of air-to-air missiles and laser-guided bombs and was built in the US by the defence firm Lockheed Martin. Rolls-Royce and other British companies have contributed parts and technology, including a ‘lift system’ that allows the aircraft to hover and land vertically.
The Government, which has agreed to spend £9.1billion on 48 F-35Bs by 2025, will be horrified that its secrets could be in the hands of a foreign power.
Rolls-Royce chief executive Warren East declined to comment.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed there had been an arrest under the Official Secrets Act, adding: ‘We are not prepared to discuss further at this stage.’
Convictions under section one of the Official Secrets Act, which concerns national security, carry a maximum 14 years in jail.
‘He doesn’t even speak any Chinese’