Downing Street is under mounting pressure to publish evidence from the collapsed Chinese spy trial, after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) denied blocking its release. The CPS said the decision rests with the government, not prosecutors, intensifying scrutiny on Prime Minister Keir Starmer ahead of Prime Minister's Questions.
The case involved Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, a teacher, who were accused of passing secrets to China. Charges were dropped last month after a witness statement by Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Collins was deemed insufficient to show China posed a threat to national security at the time of the alleged offences.
No 10 sources claimed Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald had discussed publication of the statement with the CPS, but a CPS spokesperson denied this, stating the material is not theirs to release. The Liberal Democrats urged the government to publish Collins's statement, with foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller saying failure to come clean would fuel suspicions of a cover-up.
Starmer praised Collins as a 'highly respected securocrat' who supported the case, but the Tories accused the government of initiating a blame game. The chief prosecutor for England and Wales, Stephen Parkinson, previously blamed the government for not providing evidence that China represented a threat to national security.
