Surely he can't ever make a return to public office. Certainly Bo hasn't been publicly destroyed to the same extent that a politician in the west would be in similar circumstances because the party had protect itself and if you burn one rotten apple you might have to burn them all. The problem he faces now is he is too famous/infamous for his own good. Prior to the murder he was already making his name as a populist. This is a break from the way politicians have been viewed for the last few decades in China with some western news agencies suggesting he was the closest thing that the Chinese had to a western politician. However, it's going to be very difficult for him to ever remove the stink of such allegations and he is of course still awaiting trail on several charges himself. I'm sure that as with his wife he won't get be punished to the full extent of the law but it would be another big dent to his image and will leave a come back unlikely. I guess only time will tell for certain.

As for our 'modern way' to interfere in the sovereignty of states, I can tell you we have been doing so for longer than most of you 'new world' nation states have existed. You might get some pleasure from reading Kippling's 'Kim', a book that details Britain's participation in 'The Great Game' in areas such as Western China/Tibet, as well as the sub-continent and middle east.

The Chinese Security Service, Bo and the Brit may have had something in common. Bo's family dealt with the Brit for much longer than the 3 years and the dealings included funneling dirty money abroad, getting the young Guagua prepared for his future, and perhaps more than that which I do not dare to convey here. Bo's had the power, connections and people believe in him maybe as much as Wen. The reason why Bo's assistant Wang did not succeed in the US consulate may have to do with Bo's family's influence at home and abroad. The reason why they are "James Bonding" the situation in such a timely fashion is that if there's a justification for the murder and if there's a common knowledge other politicians are so wealthy as Wen too, Bo will not only escape any wrongdoing but also set the stage for his son to grap a leading role in China one day. Even the old Bo may have another shot at it.

The British Intelligence or Neil Heywood roles have been the same as they've ever been. Have a look at how many nations have the Brits colonized in past few centuries. I think there are no more than 20 nations worldwide they haven't invaded before. Assisting Bo to power in Beijing would've been a promising step towards another shot at a more modern way to interfere in sovereign nations' affairs.

Cheers and beers to justice

The Chinese authorities may have allowed this to continue 'cause the few involved benefited in a few ways. Had Bo risen to power, a part of the party office would've been able to carry out their significant changes they dreamed of. Needless to say that how much money that they stole from people they were able to transfer abroad. The politics and money drove those politicians.
Cheers and beers

Magister, the fact that Bo's family may have been aware of Neil Heywood's connections would challenge the motive for the Brit's murder. Had there been a plan to dethrown/discredit Xi Jingping, it'd have been pretty uneasy for Bo. It was hard to believe the Brit came to the city to blackmail or get laid. Also, it was suspicious that British government laid low in the case when no autopsy was pefromed there.
Justice to all

This has been touted by the news agencies for a while. Personally it doesn't surprise me to learn that he had contact with MI6 given his relationship with Bo Xi Lai and other 'leaders' but you have to wonder how much dirt he was actually passing on to the British security services given that such information could have damaged his own vested interests with the Bo family.

Also amusing how the wall street journal choose to wait until the release of the new Bond movie until publishing what most already assumed. That way we can all imagine Heywood being a handsome maverick, sipping vodka martinis, driving fast cars and banging beautiful women as opposed to reality of the situation that he probably had a couple of meetings with some boring grey suit from Vauxhall Bridge. Oh well, whatever sells newspapers.