UK removed ‘enemy’ label from China spy case due to former government’s policy
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Academic Christopher Berry (left) and former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash were accused of spying for Beijing before the charges were unexpectedly dropped in September.
PHOTOS: AFP
Follow topic:
- Espionage charges against two British men accused of spying for China were dropped due to insufficient evidence from the government.
- A government advisor removed the term "enemy" regarding China from evidence, as it wasn't the Conservative government's official policy in 2023.
- The government denies interfering in the case's collapse, stating the evidence was only sent to the former PM, Rishi Sunak.
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LONDON - Britain did not label China as an “enemy” in its evidence to prosecutors in an espionage case that has heaped pressure on the prime minister because it was not the policy of the then-Conservative government, the statement’s author said on Oct 24.
Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) unexpectedly dropped charges
They had denied passing politically sensitive information to the Chinese state.
China says the case is entirely fabricated and a malicious slander.
The CPS said the case had been dropped because it needed evidence showing Britain considered China a threat to national security, but the government had not provided it after months of requests.
That statement led to heavy criticism of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government, with opposition politicians accusing ministers of interfering in the case to ensure its collapse and appease China in the hope of improving trade ties.
In a bid to ease that criticism, the government last week published the evidence it sent to prosecutors which detailed Chinese malign activity, but did not unequivocally state that China posed a threat to UK national security.
In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry published on Oct 24, the deputy national security adviser, Mr Matthew Collins, said he had removed the word “enemy” from a draft witness statement because it was not government policy in 2023, before Mr Starmer’s Labour Party was elected.
The submission, written by Mr Collins and his boss, National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, said prosecutors were aware that the evidence would not refer to China as an enemy before charges were brought.
Critics of Mr Starmer had also asked when he knew that the case would collapse and what role he had taken in the language provided to prosecutors.
The submission said the final draft was only sent to the then-prime minister, Mr Rishi Sunak, and no minister or special adviser in Mr Starmer’s government played any role in the provision of evidence.
Mr Collins and the head of the CPS, Mr Stephen Parkinson, will appear before the inquiry next week. Some Labour lawmakers and former UK security officials have questioned whether the failure of the case lay with prosecutors and not the government. REUTERS
