Charges of spying for China are dropped against two men

A decision to drop charges of spying for China against two men, one of whom was a parliamentary aide, has been described as "extremely disappointing" by the government.

- Matthew Weaver

Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 33, denied accusations of providing information prejudicial to the interests of the state in breach of the Official Secrets Act between December 2021 and February 2023.

Cash worked as a parliamentary researcher and was the director of the China Research Group. He was closely linked to Conservative MPs who held senior roles at the time, including Tom Tugendhat, who was the security minister, and Alicia Kearns, who served as the chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee.

The men were due to go on trial next month but the prosecutor, Tom Little, told the Old Bailey yesterday that they would offer no evidence and that "we simply cannot continue to prosecute this case", without giving any reason for the decision.

The security minister, Dan Jarvis, told the Commons that ministers remained "gravely concerned" about the threat of Chinese espionage. He denied opposition suggestions that the government pressured the Crown Prosecution Service to drop the case to avoid embarrassing Beijing.