58 minutes agoShareSaveBrian WheelerPolitical reporter andJoshua NevettPolitical reporterShareSaveAFP/Getty ImagesSir Keir Starmer is facing further questions over the China spying case after witness statements said the country was carrying out “large scale espionage” against the UK.The PM ordered the publication of the three statements, by deputy national securirty adviser Matthew Collins, in a bid to clear up a row about why the case against two alleged spies collapsed.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the case after deciding the evidence did not show China was a threat to the UK’s national security.But the statements are clear that the Chinese are carrying out spying operations against the UK, raising questions for the CPS and ministers about why the prosecutions did not go ahead.The Conservatives have accused the government of allowing the case to collapse to avoid jeopardising economic relations with China.This is firmly denied by the government, who blame the previous Conservative administration who were in charge when Mr Collins sent his first evidence statement, for the collapse of the prosecution.The head of the CPS Stephen Parkinson is also in the firing line, with MPs suggesting there was sufficient evidence to put the case before a jury.He is reported to have told senior MPs on Wednesday that the evidence was “5%” short of what would have been required to stand a chance of getting a conviction.In the first witness statement, sent in December 2023, Mr Collins outlines the case against former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash, 30, and academic Christopher Berry, 33.The pair are accused of collaborating with a Chinese Communist Party leader who was deputy director of the Central National Security Commission, chaired by President Xi Jinping.In one message, Mr Cash is alleged to have told Mr Berry: “You’re in spy territory now.” Both men deny any wrongdoing.In a statement released on Wednesday evening, Mr Cash said he had been placed in an “impossible situation” because he had not “had the daylight of a public trial to show my innocence”. He added: “I should not have to take part in a trial by media.”The statements that have been made public are completely devoid of the context that would have been given at trial.”While Mr Berry has previously denied spying for China, he has not commented since the day the case ended.MPs are poring over the three witness statement released on Wednesday night – a highly unusual move sanctioned by the CPS in an effort to clear up the row.The second witness statement, written by Mr Collins in February 2025, after Labour had taken power, said China’s spying threatened “the UK’s economic prosperity and resilience”.A third witness statement published in August this year restated the UK’s view of the challenge posed by China.But the second two statements made clear the government was “committed to pursuing a positive economic relationship with China”.ReutersConservative MP Alicia Kearns, who previously employed Mr Cash as a parliamentary researcher, said Mr Collins’s third includes language about China similar to that in Labour’s election manifesto last year.The witness statement and the manifesto both include the words “we will co-operate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must”.”There’s a direct lift from the Labour Party manifesto,” Kearns said. “It’s very hard to believe there was no political interference and that a civil servant would have felt the need to do that.”But she said there been “misleading discussion” about whether China was deemed a threat to national security at the time of the alleged offences in 2023.”In my view, the Crown Prosecution Service should have proceeded with this,” Kearns said.She added: “The case law shows it’s for a jury to decide if China is or could be a threat to our country.”BBC News understand …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn58 minutes agoShareSaveBrian WheelerPolitical reporter andJoshua NevettPolitical reporterShareSaveAFP/Getty ImagesSir Keir Starmer is facing further questions over the China spying case after witness statements said the country was carrying out “large scale espionage” against the UK.The PM ordered the publication of the three statements, by deputy national securirty adviser Matthew Collins, in a bid to clear up a row about why the case against two alleged spies collapsed.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the case after deciding the evidence did not show China was a threat to the UK’s national security.But the statements are clear that the Chinese are carrying out spying operations against the UK, raising questions for the CPS and ministers about why the prosecutions did not go ahead.The Conservatives have accused the government of allowing the case to collapse to avoid jeopardising economic relations with China.This is firmly denied by the government, who blame the previous Conservative administration who were in charge when Mr Collins sent his first evidence statement, for the collapse of the prosecution.The head of the CPS Stephen Parkinson is also in the firing line, with MPs suggesting there was sufficient evidence to put the case before a jury.He is reported to have told senior MPs on Wednesday that the evidence was “5%” short of what would have been required to stand a chance of getting a conviction.In the first witness statement, sent in December 2023, Mr Collins outlines the case against former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash, 30, and academic Christopher Berry, 33.The pair are accused of collaborating with a Chinese Communist Party leader who was deputy director of the Central National Security Commission, chaired by President Xi Jinping.In one message, Mr Cash is alleged to have told Mr Berry: “You’re in spy territory now.” Both men deny any wrongdoing.In a statement released on Wednesday evening, Mr Cash said he had been placed in an “impossible situation” because he had not “had the daylight of a public trial to show my innocence”. He added: “I should not have to take part in a trial by media.”The statements that have been made public are completely devoid of the context that would have been given at trial.”While Mr Berry has previously denied spying for China, he has not commented since the day the case ended.MPs are poring over the three witness statement released on Wednesday night – a highly unusual move sanctioned by the CPS in an effort to clear up the row.The second witness statement, written by Mr Collins in February 2025, after Labour had taken power, said China’s spying threatened “the UK’s economic prosperity and resilience”.A third witness statement published in August this year restated the UK’s view of the challenge posed by China.But the second two statements made clear the government was “committed to pursuing a positive economic relationship with China”.ReutersConservative MP Alicia Kearns, who previously employed Mr Cash as a parliamentary researcher, said Mr Collins’s third includes language about China similar to that in Labour’s election manifesto last year.The witness statement and the manifesto both include the words “we will co-operate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must”.”There’s a direct lift from the Labour Party manifesto,” Kearns said. “It’s very hard to believe there was no political interference and that a civil servant would have felt the need to do that.”But she said there been “misleading discussion” about whether China was deemed a threat to national security at the time of the alleged offences in 2023.”In my view, the Crown Prosecution Service should have proceeded with this,” Kearns said.She added: “The case law shows it’s for a jury to decide if China is or could be a threat to our country.”BBC News understand …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
