No 10 publishes crucial witness statements in collapsed China spy case
The government has repeatedly described China as a “threat” in eyewitness accounts. Keir Starmer was forced to make a statement in a bid to clear up controversy over the collapsed Chinese spying case.
Deputy national security adviser Matt Collins said Chinese intelligence services were “highly capable and are conducting large-scale espionage operations against the UK”, which “threatens the UK’s economic prosperity, its resilience and the integrity of our democratic institutions”.
But the documents say the government is “committed to maintaining a positive relationship” with Beijing.
The documents will put pressure on the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to explain why it did not proceed with the case.
The CPS said the case collapsed because the government’s evidence did not show that China posed a threat to national security at the time of the alleged crimes committed under the last Conservative government.
Ministers hope the release of the documents will prove the Labor government did not force the case to collapse.
But the Conservatives said their publication fell “insufficient” to what they wanted and called for the full release of the “China dossiers”.
A Conservative Party spokesman added: “What has already been published shows the extent of the threat China poses to the UK and makes it all the more shocking that the Prime Minister knew this case would soon collapse but did nothing to stop it.”
In his final witness statement in August, Mr Collins said: “As I said in my first statement, Chinese Intelligence Services are extremely capable and are carrying out large-scale espionage operations against the UK to advance the interests of the Chinese state and to undermine the interests and security of the UK.
“Chinese espionage operations threaten the UK’s economic prosperity, resilience and the integrity of our democratic institutions.”
But he added: “However, it is important for me to emphasize that the UK government is committed to maintaining a positive relationship with China to strengthen understanding, cooperation and stability.” He had previously said in February that China was the “biggest state-based threat to the UK’s economic security”.
He said a “wide range of UK government and commercial targets” had been attacked by “advanced persistent threat” (APT) groups, which he attributed to China’s Ministry of State Security.
Mr Collins said APT “uses persistent, covert and sophisticated hacking techniques to gain access to a system and remain inside for long periods of time, with potentially devastating consequences”.
“In July 2021, the government attributed the hacking of Microsoft Exchange servers to actors affiliated with the Chinese state and determined that the purpose of the attack was likely to enable large-scale espionage, including the interception of personally identifiable information and intellectual property.”
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