Chinese spy suspect was detained at Heathrow with £4,000 in cash lying in his suitcase
A suspect in a Chinese spying case was detained at Heathrow carrying a bag containing £4,000.
Academic Christopher Berry, 33, from Witney in Oxfordshire, was stopped with a large sum of money in February 2023.
It would not be nearly another six weeks before he was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
Mr Berry is believed to have been given the money by the Chinese intelligence officer known only as ‘Alex’. It is unclear whether the cash was in police possession or what currency it was in.
Mr Berry was stopped by police under Schedule 3 of the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, which is used by police when there is suspicion of ‘hostile activity’ involving a foreign state.
His connection to Chris Cash, the parliamentary investigator from Edinburgh accused of spying for China, was revealed when officers seized his phone and laptop.
They also revealed a person believed to be a Chinese intelligence agent on their phones.
Prosecutors alleged that Chinese spies requested at least 34 reports related to political interests from Mr. Berry.
Academic Christopher Berry (pictured), 33, from Witney in Oxfordshire, was stopped with a large sum of money in February 2023. Barely six weeks had passed since he was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
Mr Berry’s connection to Edinburgh parliamentary investigator Chris Cash (pictured), who is also accused of spying for China, was revealed when officers seized his phone and laptop at Heathrow.
Ten of these reports were assessed as damaging to national security, and British prosecutors suspected Cai Qi, President Xi’s confidant and senior Chinese official, of receiving intelligence from Westminster.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement yesterday: Times newspaper: ‘A man in his thirties was stopped at Heathrow airport on 2 February 2023 under Schedule 3 of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. He was not arrested and investigations continued.’
The prosecution was supposed to give evidence in the case against the two men but the case collapsed last month, sparking anger from ministers, MPs and police.
It turned out last week that In talks with senior MPs, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) chief Stephen Parkinson claimed the evidence he had obtained from the Government’s key witness, deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins, was ‘5 per cent short of sufficient’ for the trial to proceed.
The government insists it is up to Mr Parkinson to explain what would satisfy him to meet that extra threshold to open a successful investigation against Mr Cash and Mr Berry for allegedly passing secrets to China.
Mr Cash and Mr Berry deny all charges against them.
Britain’s attorney general faces a series of questions, including whether he sought evidence from sources other than Mr Collins, who failed to identify Beijing as Britain’s enemy, fatally undermining the case.
on wednesday, The government released the evidence of three witnesses who set out a range of alleged evidence against Mr Collins, Mr Cash and Mr Berry, including the allegation that secret reports were sent to Beijing within 13 hours of information allegedly passed on to Parliament by Mr Cash.
Cai Qi, the Chinese official believed to have received intelligence from Westminster
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) chief Stephen Parkinson (pictured) claimed the evidence he obtained from the Government’s key witness, deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins, was ‘5 per cent short of sufficient’ for the trial to proceed
Mr Collins has repeatedly raised the threat China poses to the UK.
Mr Parkinson has now been asked why this evidence was not enough to proceed with the case and what steps he took to inform ministers that the prosecution would be closed after it emerged that the Prime Minister knew days in advance.
The attorney general was also asked whether he had taken into account intelligence material from MI5, which frequently referred to Beijing as a national security threat.
Former Attorney-General Dominic Grieve told the BBC it was “a complete mystery” why the case was dropped in light of the revelations. Other questions concern the role of former and current government legal officials in decisions about the case.
In their letter, the committee chairs wrote: ‘Given the seriousness of the allegations, the consequences for UK national security and foreign policy, and the need to uphold the integrity and independence of the criminal justice system, we believe that it would be in the public interest to provide a more comprehensive statement on dropping the charges.’
Lord Beamish, chairman of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, announced last week that he would investigate how classified material relating to China was used in the case.
The Labor Party member and former minister said his committee ‘has the legal authority to seek information from the UK intelligence community’ and will ‘pursue evidence where necessary’.
