Collapse of China ‘spying’ trial was not a mistake | Politics | News
The government’s chief legal counsel has denied that the collapse of the Chinese espionage case was “nonsense” or a “mistake”. Attorney-General Lord Richard Hermer told Parliament’s Joint Committee on National Security Strategy: “It is somewhat easy to jump to conclusions that may turn out to be unfair.”
Lawyer and Labor politician Lord Hermer said there was a “mismatch” in the evidence required to proceed with the case, but said: “Now I don’t think this mismatch should be classed as an error or nonsense. You are absolutely right to look at it, but I wouldn’t rush to say that. These are all people who have worked incredibly hard to get this prosecution over the edge.”
Lord Hermer is giving evidence to a parliamentary inquiry asking why the case against two men accused of spying for China collapsed just weeks before the trial was due to begin.
Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary investigator, and Christopher Berry, an academic, were charged under the Official Secrets Act in April 2024. Both have consistently maintained their innocence.
But prosecutors unexpectedly dropped the charges in September, sparking a political debate over who should be charged.
Lord Hermer said a “very important issue” affecting the alleged Chinese spying case was the Official Secrets Act, which was “not fit for purpose”.
If updated legislation had been in place at the time of the alleged offence, the Attorney General said he had “no doubt” the prosecution would have gone to trial.
“So where’s the problem? What’s the problem? Because I think we should all try to determine what lessons can be learned,” he told the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy.
“I was clear that the absolutely crucial issue here was the Act. The Act was not fit for purpose, it was out of date.”
Lord Hermer said in 2017 the Law Commission flagged that the term “adversary” was “highly problematic” and would “give rise to difficulties in future investigations”.
“I think what happened in these poros exemplifies and highlights the difficulties associated with that period,” he said.
He said Parliament was right to pass the National Security Act of 2023, which eliminates the problems faced by prosecutors in the case and means only that “the transfer of information to a foreign power” must be proven.
“Frankly, I do not understand why it has taken Parliament so long to pass this. If this Act had been in force at the relevant time for this case, between ’21 and ’23, I have no doubt that the prosecution would have proceeded with the trial.”
Lord Hermer said the Crown Prosecution Service was working “in good faith” to bring Chinese spying allegations to court.
“These are people who are working in good faith to bring this case to trial,” the attorney general told the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy.
He said: “Everything I’ve seen tells me this is a prosecution service working very hard to secure a conviction.”
