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The Crown Prosecution Service has said that a case involving alleged Chinese espionage in parliament collapsed after the government refused to provide evidence that China was a threat to the UK’s national security.
In a letter on Tuesday, the CPS said the refusal was the key reason it abandoned a case last month against two Britons charged with spying on a parliamentary group on behalf of China.
“Efforts to obtain the evidence were made over many months,” the CPS said in the letter to the chairs of the House of Commons home affairs and justice committees.
“Not withstanding the fact that further witness statements were provided, none of these stated that at the time of the offence China represented a threat to national security, and by late August 2025 it was realised that this evidence would not be forthcoming,” the letter added. “When this became apparent, the case could not proceed.”
The case was originally brought in April 2024 against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, who both strenuously denied the charges and said the CPS was right to drop what they have called a misguided prosecution.
The case involved alleged conduct between 2021 and 2023.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government has faced huge pressure over the collapse of the case. The FT and other papers in recent days have reported that the UK’s top national security advisers refused to provide the necessary testimony about China for the purposes of the Official Secrets Act, the law under which the men were charged.
This is a developing story
