Chinese authorities have charged the wife of Bo Xilai with the murder of a British businessman as Beijing tries to orchestrate a smooth leadership transition later this year.

In a scandal that rocked China and led to the downfall of Mr Bo – the populist politician who had been on course for a possible seat on the Chinese communist party’s most powerful body – Gu Kailai was arrested in April in connection with the death of Neil Heywood. The business consultant was found dead in November in a hotel in Chongqing, the southwestern city Mr Bo presided over as party secretary until he was purged.

The official Xinhua news agency reported that Ms Gu and a Bo family employee, Zhang Xiaojun, had been charged with poisoning Mr Heywood. It said an investigation had found that Ms Gu and her son Bo Guagua, who was not mentioned by name, had a conflict with Heywood over “economic interests” and that she believed that the Briton posed a threat to her son’s life. Guagua has not been charged with any wrongdoing.