Rishi Sunak was the only politician to see a witness statement by the deputy national security adviser at the centre of a controversy about the collapse of a case against two British men accused of spying for China. According to letters sent to the joint committee on the national security strategy, the statement from Matthew Collins in December 2023, which was seen by the then prime minister and his advisers, did not describe China as an enemy, another key element of the case. The letters also set out that by…
Tag: Official Secrets Act
The Guardian view on UK national security: a case of state failure | Editorial
The China spying row has revealed disturbing weaknesses in the processes of the UK state. It cannot be in the national interest for a case involving national security to get so close to the courts and then for it to be abandoned in what remain mysterious circumstances. Public confidence, as well as security itself, are inevitably placed at risk. But this genuinely important issue now risks being blanketed by the fog of the party-political battle at Westminster. For the third time this week, MPs spent Thursday trading accusations about whether the Conservatives or Labour are more…
The Guardian view on the China spy trial: an opportunity for Labour to prove it understands the threat from Beijing | Editorial
No single word describes the challenge that China poses for UK foreign policy. There is threat and opportunity; a requirement to engage and an imperative to be guarded. The Communist party in Beijing represses dissent and pursues its interests overseas with coercive nationalist determination. It is not a regime with which Britain can build a relationship based on common values. But China is also a superpower with near-monopoly control of some mineral resources and pre-eminence in important manufacturing supply chains. Trusting friendship is not an option; hostile rejection is unrealistic.…