Bo's sacking as head of the Chongqing megacity, his purge from the powerful Politburo and the revelation that his wife is a suspect in the alleged murder of Briton Neil Heywood have shocked the nation and exposed rifts in the party.

"Recently, the central government decided to start an investigation into serious disciplinary violations by Comrade Bo Xilai," the state-run Chongqing Daily said in a commentary.

"This is a great fortune for the party, for the country and for Chongqing, deeply suits the party's wishes and the people's wishes," it added, referring also to the probe into Heywood's death last November in the southwestern city.

"The great cadres and people (of Chongqing) know that the... decision was wise and correct, and trust in the central government under the leadership of Comrade Hu Jintao has greatly increased," it said.

The commentary is one of many reports carried by China's tightly-controlled media that rally behind the party, since news emerged last week of Bo's suspension from the Politburo and his wife Gu Kailai's suspicion of murder.

The ruling party -- apparently nervous about repercussions on public opinion of the case, which shatters its carefully crafted appearance of unity -- has also cracked down on the Internet as wild speculation emerges online.

Authorities have shut down dozens of websites, deleted hundreds of thousands of microblog posts and even detained people for spreading rumours.

But China's weibos -- hugely popular microblogs similar to Twitter -- have still buzzed with speculation about a scandal worthy of a Hollywood thriller.

Until very recently, Bo -- a charismatic politician and a rising star of the party -- had been touted to access the highest echelons of power later this year.

The scandal burst into the open in February when Bo's right-hand man Wang Lijun fled in apparent panic to a US consulate, reportedly demanded asylum and handed over large amounts of information about his former boss.

The case of Neil Heywood, who was found dead in a hotel room in Chongqing in November in suspicious circumstances, took a dramatic turn last week when the wife of the city's former party leader Bo Xilai was named as a suspect in his alleged murder.

"It is likely to come up," a Downing Street spokeswoman told reporters Monday when asked whether Cameron would raise the case with Politburo member Li Changchun.

"I think he will echo what the foreign secretary (William Hague) has said, that we welcome the investigation that is ongoing and we look forward to seeing the outcome of that."

The spokesman added that the purpose of the meeting with Li was to "strengthen Britain's relationship with China in a range of areas including trade and people-to-people contacts, including such things as education and culture."

Heywood, 41, had reportedly forged close links with Bo, who was removed from the Politburo on Tuesday at the same time as his wife Gu Kailai was named as a suspect in the case.

Britain's Foreign Office has defended itself over alleged hold-ups in intervening over Heywood's death.

Reports said a British diplomat and two Chinese policemen attended Heywood's cremation in Chongqing shortly after he died but London did not raise questions with Beijing until three months later.

A junior British Foreign Office minister, Jeremy Browne, also met Bo in Chongqing on November 17, three days after the discovery of Heywood's body in a hotel in the city, and was photographed with a panda.

Asked whether Cameron was concerned that Browne did not raise the case at that point, the Downing Street spokeswoman said: "We were informed of the death of Mr Heywood on November 16 by the Chinese authorities.

"We became more concerned following suggestions from the business community, and we asked the Chinese authorities to launch an investigation.

"We acted as soon as we thought the concerns about the case justified it, and we are now pleased that the Chinese have launched an investigation."

Questions surround Heywood's death as people close to him cited by British newspaper The Times say the theory that he had drunk too much alcohol does not stand up, as he was never a heavy drinker.

The Hong Kong-based Mingjing website, quoting party sources, alleges that an official in Chongqing admitted to police that he had provided one of Bo's men with potassium cyanide to get rid of Heywood.

But authorities are going to have a hard time proving anything, as the Briton's body was quickly cremated, rendering it impossible for experts to conduct an autopsy.

The Daily Mail newspaper said that Heywood's Chinese wife, Wang Lulu, had visited the British embassy in Beijing on Friday and was understood to have asked for a visa to go to the Britain with her children.

The Foreign Office said it did not discuss the visa status of individuals.