"The context here is the ongoing fallout from the collapse of the prosecution of Christopher Cash, a parliamentary researcher, who was working for the Conservative MP Alicia Kearns at the time of his arrest, and his friend Christopher Berry, a researcher based in China. Both were accused of spying for China under the 1911 Official Secrets Act because the alleged offences took place between late 2021 and early 2023, when that law was still in force."
"The archaic legislation, now replaced by the National Security Act, required Collins as the government witness to label China as an enemy, redefined after a court case in July 2024 as a current threat to national security. But it seems he did not do so to the satisfaction of the Crown Prosecution Service, not just in his original witness statement of December 2023 but again in February and July 2025."
"The formal explanation continues to be it was this failure that led to the CPS abandoning its case, a month before a trial was due to start. Jarvis, so keen to distance ministers and the prime minister's national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, from the embarrassing episode, insisted that the content of the all important evidence was a matter for the deputy national security adviser."
Dan Jarvis, the security minister, said the prosecution collapsed because Conservative policy did not classify China as a national security threat. Previous government documents and public statements indicate China had been recognised as a threat. Matthew Collins, the deputy national security adviser and government witness, failed to label China as an enemy or current threat in witness statements dated December 2023, February 2025 and July 2025. The Crown Prosecution Service abandoned the case a month before trial. The accused had been charged under the 1911 Official Secrets Act for alleged offences between late 2021 and early 2023; that law required such a designation and has since been replaced.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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