Key China spy case witness removed ‘enemy’ from evidence under Tories
A key witness in the Chinese espionage case removed the term “enemy” from the final draft of his witness statement submitted to prosecutors because it did not reflect government policy at the time.
In his letter to MPsDeputy national security adviser Matthew Collins said the word “enemy” was included in the draft witness statement written when the Conservatives were in power.
But he said he told police investigating the incident that he “could not call China ‘the enemy’ because it did not reflect government policy.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was accused by the Conservatives of letting the case collapse by failing to identify China as a threat to national security earlier this year.
Charges against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, who denied the allegations, were dropped in September.
The Labor government, the Conservatives and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are facing questions over the collapse of the case and who is to blame.
Director of public prosecutions (DPP) Stephen Parkinson said the case collapsed because the government could not obtain evidence characterizing China as a national security threat.
The Joint Committee on National Security Strategy, made up of senior lawmakers and colleagues, launched an investigation last week.
Among those testifying next week will be Collins, who gave three witness statements to prosecutors; two of these were written when the Conservatives were in power and one during the Labor Party.
These three statements were published by the government last week.
Collins, deputy director of national security (DNSA), presented his evidence to the committee in a letter before appearing before MPs.
Cash and Berry were charged under the Official Secrets Act 1911.
According to the law, anyone accused of espionage can only be prosecuted if the information they convey is useful to the enemy.
In his letter, Collins said Counter-Terrorism Police (CTP) had requested that he act as a witness at the trial in August 2023, including supporting the definition of “enemy” required to launch an investigation under the 1911 Act.
Collins said legal counsel worked with junior officials to prepare “a draft text that could form the basis of witness testimony.”
It said it had “reviewed the draft text and amended the statement to ensure factual accuracy and that it is in line with current government policy.”
“These changes reflected DNSA’s assessment of the evidence provided by operational partners, based on its professional experience in advising the prime minister on national security threats, and accurately represented the government’s view of the range of national security threats posed by China,” Collins wrote in his letter.
“Drafts of the statement submitted to DNSA included the term ‘enemy’, but removed the term from the final draft as it did not reflect government policy.”
Labor Attorney General Lord Hermer also gave evidence to the same committee.
In the letter, he explained that he was informed on September 3 that prosecutors had dropped the case, but was told not to warn other ministers, including the prime minister.
Lord Hermer said he had received routine updates from the CPS in August indicating the trial was expected to go ahead.
However, at a meeting on 3 September, DPP Parkinson confirmed the decision to drop the case.
Lord Hermer said he was keeping the information confidential until police and the defendants were notified at the DPP’s request.
The attorney general said there was “nothing unusual in law officers being asked to keep information about individual prosecution decisions confidential, even from senior colleagues”.
