No 10 denies government involved in collapse of China spying case

"Downing Street has strongly denied the government was involved in the collapse of a prosecution against two men accused of spying for China. Charges against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry - who both deny the allegations - were dropped by prosecutors in September, prompting criticism from ministers and MPs. Number 10's press secretary said "the suggestion that the government withheld evidence, withdrew witnesses or restricted the ability of a witness to draw on a particular bit of evidence are all untrue"."

"Mr Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Mr Berry, were charged under the Official Secrets Act in April 2024, when the Conservatives were in power. They were accused of gathering and providing information prejudicial to the safety and interests of the state between December 2021 and February 2023. Several sources close to the trial have told the BBC that the CPS would not have made the decision to charge the pair unless it was confident that it had enough evidence to meet the threshold set in the Act. Under the Official Secrets Act, anyone accused of spying can only be prosecuted if the information they passed on was useful to an enemy. However, last month the director of public prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, who leads the CPS, said "the case could no longer proceed to trial since the evidence no longer met the evidential test"."

Downing Street strongly denied government involvement in the collapse of a prosecution against two men accused of spying for China. Charges against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry were dropped by prosecutors in September, prompting criticism from ministers and MPs. Number 10's press secretary said the suggestion that the government withheld evidence, withdrew witnesses or restricted a witness's ability to draw on a particular piece of evidence were all untrue. The men were charged under the Official Secrets Act in April 2024 and accused of gathering and providing information prejudicial to state safety between December 2021 and February 2023. The director of public prosecutions said the evidence no longer met the evidential test and the Crown Prosecution Service made the decision independently.

Read at www.bbc.com