Starmer’s ex-top civil servant Simon Case wades into China spy fiasco | UK | News

Sir Keir Starmer’s former senior civil servant has cast doubt on the official story behind the collapse of an investigation targeting alleged Chinese spies.

The Prime Minister said on Tuesday that the Government lacked the ability to show that China posed a national security threat following the arrest of two suspected spies in 2023.

Britain’s most senior prosecutor blamed the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to drop the case on Labor’s failure to produce such evidence. The news comes as Starmer is on the brink of stepping down in 2026.

But Simon Case, who worked as cabinet secretary to both Sir Keir and his predecessor Rishi Sunak, has now spoken out publicly to dispute that version of events, The Telegraph reports.

Former Whitehall chief skeptical of claims

Stating that intelligence agencies have been publicly warning for years about the threat posed by China, he stated that there is enough evidence to move the case forward.

“Looking back over the years, we saw the heads of our intelligence agencies publicly stating the threat China posed to our national and economic security interests,” Lord Case told The Telegraph.

A former attorney general, three former Conservative Cabinet ministers, a former MI6 chief and the Government’s counter-terrorism watchdog raised questions about Sir Keir’s version of how the case collapsed.

Pressure mounts on trade fears

The Prime Minister now faces growing allegations that the investigation was deliberately undermined to protect Britain’s trade ties with China, which the Government sees as vital to spurring economic growth.

Security experts emphasized that authorities constantly warn about the threat posed by China to national security.

Authorities released a report the same day Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry were detained and vowed to intervene in areas where “the actions of the Chinese Communist Party pose a threat to our people, our well-being, and our security.”

Former prosecutor stunned by charges being dropped

Former director of public prosecutions Lord Macdonald said it was “difficult to understand” why the case was dropped because it was “obvious” that China posed a threat.

Suella Braverman, who was home secretary when the arrests took place, backed Sir Keir’s assessment, saying he was “deceived” if he thought China had not been classed as a threat by previous governments.

Writing in The Telegraph, former security minister Tom Tugendhat said the country’s senior security officials described the espionage case to him as a “slam dunk” and that the only explanation for the collapse of the case was that someone in the Government “made a choice” that preserving good relations with China was more important than protecting national security.

Ministers make repeated visits to Beijing

Labor has launched a diplomatic push targeting China by sending national security adviser Jonathan Powell, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband and Trade Minister Peter Kyle to Beijing. Sir Keir will come to visit next year.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp branded the Government’s explanation of why the case collapsed an “outright lie”.

Sir Richard Dearlove, who led MI6 between 1999 and 2004, told Times Radio the collapsed case should be “reopened”.

He said: “It seems pretty simple to me. The idea that China would not pose a threat to national security while acting in this way is completely absurd. It’s kind of inexplicable.”

Former official reacted to the surprising decision

Another former Whitehall official described Sir Keir’s claims as “madness” and said: “The whole thing is completely confusing. “The drafters of the Official Secrets Act did not keep in mind the suggestion that this would depend on the definition of who our enemies are in leaflets published by the government.

“It is clear that China is behaving as an enemy of the British state.”

Timeline of arrests until charges were dropped

The Chinese spying saga began in 2023 when former parliamentary aide Mr Cash and teacher Mr Berry were arrested on suspicion of passing secrets to China.

Deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins agreed to testify in court about the threat China poses to national security, and last year the two men were charged with offenses under the Official Secrets Act.

Then, shortly before Labor came to power, a judge ruled in a separate case that espionage amounted to providing information to a state that posed a threat to national security.

The Crown Prosecution Service decided it needed more evidence to prove China was a threat, but this was not provided by the Government despite repeated requests for months.

At a meeting attended by Mr. Powell in September, Whitehall officials were told that Mr. Collins would not describe China as an enemy in court. The case was later dropped.