Jonathan Powell had no role in dropping of China spy case, senior minister says | Jonathan Powell

The government’s national security adviser had no involvement in the investigation into two British men accused of spying for China, a senior cabinet minister has said.

Jonathan Powell had no connection with discussions about the “substance or evidence” of the case, Bridget Phillipson said on Sunday, adding that Keir Starmer had full confidence in him.

Powell’s role has been under intense scrutiny since it emerged in September that the abrupt halt to the investigation was due to the Starmer government’s reluctance to say China posed a threat to UK national security; It’s a decision Powell was at the center of.

According to reports, cases against parliamentary investigator Christopher Cash and China-based investigator Christopher Berry were dropped after Powell said China would not be identified as an adversary in any cases; this is deemed necessary for a successful prosecution under the Official Secrets Act.

Cash and Berry deny accusations that they provided information about Westminster to China’s politburo.

Under the updated national security strategy published in June, China was listed as a “geostrategic threat” rather than an enemy.

Appearing on the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg program on Sunday, Phillipson was asked why the case ended. He said: “Obviously the Crown Prosecution Service is best placed to explain why they were unable to launch an investigation, but I can be absolutely clear that ministers and others, including the national security adviser, had no part to play in the substance of the case or the evidence in question.”

Speaking earlier on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme, the education secretary was asked for assurances that Powell was not involved in the decision. “Yes, I can give that assurance,” Phillipson replied. “We are very disappointed that the CPS has failed to take the prosecution forward.”

When asked if the Prime Minister still had full confidence in Powell, he said he did.

The centrality of the government’s decision-making was laid bare last week when the director of prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, wrote to the chairmen of two parliamentary select committees, saying the case had been dropped after ministers and officials refused to state that Beijing posed a “threat to the national security of the UK” despite “many months” of efforts.

This is crucial because of the case law regarding the Official Secrets Act that emerged after Cash and Berry were charged. This, in connection with the separate case of six Bulgarian nationals convicted of spying for Russia, clarified that under the law a country must pose a threat to the national security of the United Kingdom at the time the crime was committed, creating the need for explanations from the government.

Phillipson told the BBC this was a matter for the previous Conservative government, as some legislative changes were backdated to 2023. “I’m not being partisan when I say this, but there was a different government in office at the time,” he said.

Speaking on the same programme, shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: “I would say this is complete nonsense and it’s a bold statement from him. I was home secretary for over three years and we were absolutely clear that China was a threat, an enemy.”