'Absurd' for Starmer to step into spy case

DOWNING Street has said it would have been “absurd” for the Prime Minister to step in after being told the China spy case was going to collapse, stressing it was a “criminal matter” for the Crown Prosecution Service to handle independently.

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The head of MI5 has meanwhile warned “Chinese state actors” present a national security threat “every day”, with the security services carrying out an operation against a threat from Beijing in the last week.

Statements provided by deputy national security adviser Matt Collins as part of the CPS's case have prompted fresh questions about why it collapsed.

They showed the Government's evidence warned of Beijing's large-scale espionage but stressed the desire to seek a positive relationship with the economic superpower.