What was alleged against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry in China spy case?

Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry were accused of collecting inside information about UK politics and government policy and passing it on to a Chinese intelligence agent, who in turn passed it on to Cai Qi, one of China’s most senior politicians. Cai is often called President Xi Jinping’s right-hand man.

Both Mr Cash and Mr Berry completely denied the charge under Section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) We dropped the case against the duo last month After deciding that the evidence did not show that China was a threat to national security.

The two men met while teaching in China.

Mr. Berry remained behind, but Mr. Cash, whose other love was politics, found a job in the House of Commons; First as a researcher and then as director of the China Research Group, he worked closely with MPs such as Tom Tugendhat, Alicia Kearns and Neil O’Brien.

In a statement issued through his lawyer, Mr Cash told the BBC: “I have long been concerned about the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the UK and was working to inform Parliamentarians and the public about these risks before these false allegations.”

Mr Cash and Mr Berry were to speak and exchange messages between Westminster and China, according to the first evidence of three witnesses given to the CPS by deputy national security adviser Matt Collins and released by the government on Wednesday.

For example, Mr Cash told Mr Berry in June 2022 that he thought Jeremy Hunt would withdraw from the Tory leadership race, Mr Collins said.

In July 2022, Tugendhat allegedly sent a voice note saying he would almost certainly get a job in Rishi Sunak’s cabinet. Both pieces of information resulted in reports that Mr. Berry submitted to a man named “Alex,” who the prosecution said was a Chinese intelligence agent.

Mr Cash said in his statement that he was aware that “a small portion of the information” he had sent to Mr Berry had been forwarded. But he thought Mr Berry worked for a “strategic consultancy” that helps clients “invest in the UK”.

Mr Cash told Mr Berry that the information he gave was either public knowledge or “merely political gossip forming part of the daily rumor mill in Westminster”.

Mr Berry made a similar statement in a statement to BBC News through his lawyer on Thursday.

He said their report had been “submitted to a Chinese company whose clients I think are looking to develop business links with the UK”.

Mr Berry said these reports “contained no confidential information” and “dealt with economic and business matters widely discussed in the UK at the time, and made liberal use of publicly available information, with political assumptions much of which turned out to be false”.

It wasn’t to convey some information. In his note to Mr Berry about Hunt, Mr Cash wrote: “vv confidential (absolutely do not share with new employer)”. However, according to one of Mr Collins’ statements, this was included in one of Mr Berry’s reports.

Mr Cash and Mr Berry communicated using encrypted messaging applications.

Mr. Collins’ initial statement says that after a meeting in December 2022, Mr. Berry told “Alex” that Secretary of State James Cleverly did not think sanctions would be effective in blocking imports from Xinjiang, the province of Xinjiang with human rights abuses against the Uyghur population.

A series of meetings also took place between Tugendhat, Kearns and Taiwanese defense officials, according to Mr Collins.

All of these exchanges resulted in a series of reports that Mr. Berry submitted to “Alex” with titles such as “Perceptions of Taiwan within Parliament” and “Imports of Forced Labor Products from Xinjiang.”

These reports then reached Cai Qi, and Mr. Berry seems to have been so pleased with this information that in July 2022, Mr. Berry met Cai. Mr Cash texted him: “You’re in spy territory now.”

Mr Collins said that, according to Mr Berry, Cai “asked specific questions about every single MP in the Conservative leadership election”.

According to Mr. Collins, “Alex” at times “tasked” Mr. Berry with gathering certain information. In his initial statement he once said the turnaround time was only 13 hours.

But both men categorically deny knowingly spying for China.

“I spoke routinely [to] In a statement to BBC News on Wednesday night, he said that he and Christopher Berry shared information about China and British Politics.

“He was my friend, and these were issues we were both passionate about. I believed he was as critical and concerned about the Chinese Communist Party as I was.

“Even if the information was not sensitive, it would be inconceivable to me that he would deliberately pass any information to Chinese intelligence.”

Mr Cash said Mr Collins had been “put in an impossible situation” where they would be subjected to a “root and branch challenge” by the publication of his statements “lacking the context that would be given at trial”.

He insisted the assessments “could not withstand the scrutiny of a public hearing.”

Mr Berry said he had “consistently denied any wrongdoing” but found himself “on trial by the media” and caught up in various groups “trying to use the case for their own political gain”.

He said he did not accept that he had “provided information to Chinese intelligence services” by preparing the reports, and that it was untenable to view the provision of such materials as a purpose that would in any sense harm the security or interests of the state.

He added: “This would have been one of many issues raised with the jury during the trial.”