Starmer releases damning China spy files which could be his downfall | UK | News
The explosive case against two men accused of passing classified information to Beijing has crashed in sensational fashion, with explosive evidence from a senior civil servant revealing Britain’s determination to forge a “positive relationship” with China despite allegations of espionage.
Deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins was asked to provide evidence proving China was a threat to the UK when Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry were alleged to have spied between 2021 and 2023, The Telegraph reported.
Eyewitness statements published after Starmer’s threat
The government finally released Collins’ testimony from three witnesses Wednesday evening; This was a staggering nine hours after Sir Keir Starmer threatened to reveal the statements himself, amid intense criticism of the Government’s handling of the case and allegations of a “cover-up”.
In his statement, Collins stated that the Government was “committed” to building a “positive relationship” with China, although he listed a number of attacks on the UK by China-linked groups.
‘You are now in the espionage zone’
Collins also revealed that Cash told Berry “you’re in espionage territory right now” while discussing sensitive material that was eventually sent to one of Xi Jinping’s senior officials.
Cash, who has denied any wrongdoing, said in a statement on Wednesday night that he “did not have a public hearing” and “should not be tried by the media.”
The collapse of the case embarrassed the government
The collapse of the trial has become a major embarrassment for the Government, which has been accused of prioritizing national security over economic relations with Beijing.
The CPS asked Collins to “strengthen” his earlier statements and provide extra evidence to establish that China was a threat to national security when the alleged crimes were committed.
Britain ‘determined to maintain positive relations with China’
In a statement in August – just a month before the case collapsed – Collins concluded: “The UK Government is committed to maintaining a positive relationship with China to foster understanding, cooperation and stability.”
The statement was written more than two years after Cash and Berry summarized a wealth of evidence in their first statement about how Parliament allegedly passed information to China.
China presents ‘biggest state-based threat’ to UK economic security
In his second statement, published in February this year, Collins listed a series of attacks on the UK, including by China-linked hacking group APT31, and declared that China presented “the biggest state-based threat to the UK’s economic security”.
But in his third statement in August, Collins avoided describing Beijing as a threat to national security and instead referred to the Integrated Review and the Integrated Review Renewal, which described China as a “systemic challenge” and an “epoch-defining” challenge.
Allegation that conservative MPs were spying
Collins revealed that, based on information from the Metropolitan Police’s SO15 counter-terrorism unit, Cash was alleged to have passed information to Berry about the Conservative Party leadership contest and the possible promotion of Tom Tugendhat to the Cabinet.
Berry, a teacher from Oxfordshire, was allegedly “recruited as an agent” by Chinese intelligence and “directed” to use Cash, a researcher at the China Research Group of Conservative MPs, as a “sub-source”.
Political interference with evidence?
Critics argued that the inclusion of phrases from Labour’s “three Cs” policy on China in Collins’ evidence showed political interference and contradicted Sir Keir’s claims that only the previous Conservative government’s policy could be used as evidence in the case.
Alicia Kearns, one of the Conservative MPs allegedly spied on by Cash, said the inclusion of the phrases was “left from the Labor Party manifesto” and was “overly political”.
DPP reveals evidence is close to trial threshold
Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson reportedly told senior MPs that Collins’ evidence was close to the legal threshold to proceed with Cash and Berry’s trial.
ITV News reported that he told MPs the evidence was “5 per cent less than the evidentiary threshold required” and informed Attorney-General Lord Hermer that the prosecution would not proceed.
Prime Minister knew the case was on the verge of collapse but did not intervene
Downing Street admitted on Wednesday that Sir Keir knew for two days that the Chinese spying case was on the verge of collapse but did not intervene.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said he had learned of the possible collapse of the case “a few days” in advance, but admitted he had not seen Collins’ witness statements until Wednesday morning.
