The trial of two British men accused of spying for Beijing collapsed because the UK government refused to brand China a threat to national security, the country's chief prosecutor has said.
Former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash and academic Christopher Berry were charged in April 2024 with violating the Official Secrets Act by providing information that could be “useful to an enemy” between late 2021 and February 2023. However, Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said the case could not proceed as no government official was willing to testify that China represented a threat to national security at the time of the alleged offences.
Under the 1911 Official Secrets Act, prosecutors would have had to prove the defendants were acting for an “enemy.” The case was dropped last month, weeks before trial, with prosecutors citing insufficient evidence. The collapse sparked allegations of political interference, which the government denies.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government could not provide the required testimony because the previous Conservative administration, in power during the alleged spying, had designated China an “epoch-defining challenge” rather than a threat. “You can’t prosecute someone two years later in relation to a designation that wasn’t in place at the time,” Starmer said.
The two men deny wrongdoing, and the Chinese Embassy has dismissed the allegations as “malicious slander.” British intelligence has increasingly warned about Beijing's covert activities, though the government has stopped short of calling China an enemy.
