BEIJING POWER IS A THREAT SAYS MI5 CHIEF

CHINA CRISIS

- BY LIZZY BUCHAN

CHINA is a daily menace to our national security, M15 chief Sir Ken McCallum has said.

He spoke out after cases against two men accused of spying for China were dropped as it was not thought an enemy state. He also warned of "a more hostile world".

The head of MI5 said his staff disrupted a threat linked to China only last week.

Sir Ken added that Chinese spies posed a threat to Britain's national security every day - with the caveat that the UK-China relationship is complex.

His comments came amid a row over the collapse of the espionage court case against Christopher Berry, 33, and Christopher Cash, 30, who were accused of passing important secrets to Beijing.

Both men deny wrongdoing.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it dropped the case last month as there was no evidence China was considered an enemy of the UK at the time when they are said to have passed it secrets - December 2021 to February 2023, under Tory governments.

Sir Ken said it was not his role to comment on the CPS decision. But he added: "Do Chinese state actors present a UK national security threat? The answer is, of course, yes they do, every day."