UK failed to label China a 'threat' in spy case

Charges against two men accused of spying for China were suddenly dropped last month because prosecutors could not obtain critical evidence from the government that Beijing represented a “threat to the national security of the UK”.

- Jessica Elgot Dan Sabbagh

Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, wrote to two select committee chairs to explain that despite trying over “many months”, the sought-after statements were not forthcoming from ministers and officials.

The chief prosecutor did not name any individual as responsible for a decision that will raise questions about Britain’s willingness to confront China.

Over the weekend the national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, was accused of preventing the evidence coming forward, but Downing Street has denied this.

Spying charges against Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 32, were unexpectedly dropped last month by the Crown Prosecution Service, which initially said only that the "evidential standard" was "no longer met" a month before a high-profile trial had been due to start.

Cash and Berry denied the charges.

At the time of the alleged offences, Cash was a researcher specialising in China working for the Conservative MP Alicia Kearns; Berry, a friend, was a researcher based in China. They were accused of passing on information about Westminster that was ultimately sent to Cai Qi, a member of China's ruling politburo.