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Britain’s government vehemently denied on Monday that it helped scupper a high-profile case involving two men accused of spying for China, as it comes under pressure over its stance towards Beijing. Charges against Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 33, were dropped last month, two years after they were arrested on allegations of collecting information which could be ‘useful to an enemy’. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government covets Chinese investment to spur a struggling economy and is pondering a request from Beijing to build a controversial new embassy building in London. The Sunday Times newspaper reported this weekend that national security adviser Jonathan Powell had pushed for the case to be withdrawn over fears it could prompt China to pull investment. Starmer’s spokesman told reporters on Monday the claim was ‘entirely false’. ‘There was no role for any member of this government, no minister, or special adviser, to take any decision in relation to this case. That is entirely for the CPS,’ he said, referring to the Crown Prosecution Service, which operates independently of the government and police. CPS chief Stephen Parkinson said last week the case had been dropped because the government failed to provide evidence that Beijing was a security threat. Parkinson, whose job Starmer once occupied, said prosecutors had tried ‘over many months’ to get the evidence needed to proceed with the trial, but it had not been forthcoming from the government. To prove the case under the UK’s Official Secrets Act, prosecutors needed to show that the defendants were acting for an ‘enemy’ a country that threatened national security at the time of the offence. The alleged offences took place between December 2021 and February 2023, when the opposition Conservatives were in power. Starmer has blamed the case’s collapse on the previous government for not formally designating China a threat. Ties between Beijing and the Conservative government hit rock bottom before the party was voted out of office last year. Starmer has set about trying to reset relations with China, becoming the first British prime minister in six years to meet President Xi Jinping last year. Several senior ministers have made trips to China, with Starmer rumoured to be planning a trip. His government has also resisted calls from the Conservatives to put China on the enhanced tier of the so-called Foreign Influence Registration Scheme alongside Iran and Russia. The scheme requires anyone carrying out ‘political influence activities’ on behalf of a foreign power to register with the government or face prosecution. Junior Foreign Minister Hamish Falconer insisted on Monday that the current Labour government does view China as a national security threat, as it appeared to strengthen its language on Beijing. ‘They do pose national security threats to the UK, whether that’s in relation to cybersecurity, transnational repression, their relationship with Russia, in relation to the conflict in Ukraine; but there are also, of course, areas where we have to co-operate,’ he told Times Radio. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Starmer to address ‘unanswered’ questions about why the case collapsed. The government is expected to announce soon whether it will allow China to build a sprawling new embassy near the Tower of London, which has triggered concern among residents and human rights advocates. By Peter Hutchison source: AFP Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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