‘You’re in spy territory now’: Bombshell evidence exposes new details of China spy allegations
The government published Witness statements in the now-collapsed case against two men accused of spying for China after an extraordinary controversy over the legend.
Three statements submitted as part of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) trial by deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins, which repeatedly described China as a threat, were released as part of an attempt to draw a line under mounting questions about the government’s evidence.
The statements came after the CPS dropped the case, considering the evidence did not show China was a threat to national security.
But the evidence also reveals extraordinary new details about the allegations; This included one alleged Chinese spy telling another: “You’re in spy territory right now.” Mr Collins also claims in his statement that information about the Conservative Party leadership race was leaked to China.
‘You are now in the espionage zone’
A witness statement shared with the CPS in 2023 alleges that Beijing recruited one of the alleged spies, Christopher Berry, to use Christopher Cash as “a sub-source with access to the China Research group, the parliament house and at least two senior Members of Parliament”. Both Mr Cash and Mr Berry have denied all wrongdoing.
The evidence also reveals the identity of a mysterious figure named “Alex” who is said to be Mr Berry’s handler. The dossier states that he was identified by the Metropolitan Police’s SO15 counter-terrorism unit and claimed to be an agent of the Chinese state.
Mr Collins’ statement claims Mr Berry was tasked by “Alex” to “obtain information and analysis about the inner workings of the British political system”.
The witness statement also states that some of the information that Mr. Cash passed on to Mr. Berry and then to “Alex” was confirmed to be in the possession of a senior CCP leader.
In July 2022, Mr. Berry is accused in the witness statement of meeting with a senior CCP leader in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Mr Cash was allegedly informed of the meeting by voice note and replied: “You are in spy territory now.”
Conservative Party leadership race
Witness statements also allege Mr Cash passed on information about the Conservative Party leadership race, held between July and September 2022, to Mr Berry and told him that Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, who was not a minister at the time, was likely to take a cabinet position from Rishi Sunak.
Mr Berry is accused of later passing this information on to “Alex”, who stated that the position would be in exchange for his support of Mr Tugendhat on foreign policy matters.
Mr Cash is said to have told Mr Berry that the information was “off the record” and that he should never tell his “Zhejiang counterpart”.
Mr Berry noted that Alex and a senior CCP leader “showed keen interest in how any appointment in the UK political environment would change the UK government’s China policy”, Mr Collins said.
“Their interest was so great that the senior CCP leader was asking specific questions about every single MP in the Conservative leadership election.”
He also said information about Mr Tugendhat’s “possible promotion to a ministry with a significant role in shaping the UK’s China policy” would allow China to determine the likely direction of the UK government, particularly on China-related issues.
Witness statements also allege Mr Cash told Mr Berry that Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt would withdraw from the Conservative leadership race and support Mr Tugendhat; It’s something Mr Cash told Mr Berry was “confidential” and added: “Defo don’t share it with your new employer.” The witness statement stated that the information was then passed on to “Alex” by Mr Berry.
On one occasion, it was alleged that Mr Berry was able to provide information to “Alex” within 13 hours of being contacted, which Mr Collins said “suggests to me that this information may have been used to inform real-term decision making”.
China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims
Mr Collins’ witness statement also alleges Mr Berry told “Alex” that the then secretary of state, James Cleverly, thought sanctions were not an effective tool when it came to importing products from Xinjiang, where China is accused of crimes against humanity against its Uyghur population.
The witness statement also alleges that Mr Berry delegated a task from Alex to Mr Cash and offered to pay Mr Cash if he responded quickly.
Mr Cash is said to have told Mr Berry that the ban on imports of products from Xinjiang would probably not come into force until 2023, and that the government “does not plan to take measures that could harm the prospects of doing business with China”, Mr Collins said.
In a statement, Mr Cash said he had been placed in an “impossible situation”.
He said: “I have yet to witness a public hearing that would demonstrate my innocence, and I should not have to attend a hearing conducted by the media. “The public statements are completely devoid of the context that would be given at the hearing.
“Moreover, the evaluation of the information shared would be subject to a fundamental challenge. These evaluations would not withstand the scrutiny of a public hearing.”
