China spies' case was dropped after government failed to provide evidence of Beijing threat

"Charges against two men accused of spying for China were suddenly dropped last month because prosecutors could not obtain critical evidence from the government that Beijing represented a threat to the national security of the UK. Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, wrote to two select committee chairs to explain that despite trying over many months, the sought-after statements were not forthcoming from ministers and officials."

"Spying charges against Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 32, were unexpectedly dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service last month, which initially only said that the evidential standard was no longer met a month before a high-profile trial had been due to start. Cash and Berry denied the charges. At the time of the alleged offences Cash was a researcher specialising in China working for the Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, and Berry, a friend, was a researcher based in China."

Prosecutors dropped espionage charges against two men after ministers and officials did not provide statements showing that Beijing constituted a threat to UK national security. The director of public prosecutions informed select committee chairs that prosecutors had tried for many months but could not obtain the sought-after evidence. The chief prosecutor did not name any individual responsible for the missing material. The national security adviser was accused over the weekend of blocking the evidence, a claim denied by Downing Street. The accused, Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, denied the charges and were alleged to have passed Westminster information ultimately sent to Cai Qi. The requirement to describe China as a threat arose during a separate case under the 1911 Official Secrets Act, which defines espionage as acting prejudicial to the state's safety or interests and passing information useful to an enemy.

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