China's fifth-ranking official was suspect in dropped Westminster spy case

"The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in April 2024 that a senior member of the Chinese Communist party and a politburo member had received politically sensitive information from two British researchers who were charged with spying for China. That person is understood to be Cai Qi, a member of the standing committee of the CCP politburo. The committee is the ruling body of the CCP and is headed by Xi Jinping, China's all-powerful leader."

"Last month the CPS dropped the charges against Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash, citing a lack of evidence. But Cai's identification in the CPS's case is at the heart of a two-and-a-half-year saga that some MPs claim exposes the risk of Chinese intelligence operations in parliament but which China experts say reveals a lack of understanding in British institutions about Chinese politics."

"The CPS alleged that between December 2021 and February 2023, a Chinese intelligence agent commissioned at least 34 reports from Berry, a British researcher living in China. Those reports contained information from Cash, an acquaintance of Berry's who was working in Westminster for the China Research Group, a group of Beijing-sceptic Conservative MPs. The CPS believed that information was passed on to Cai, who for most of that period was a member of the 24-person politburo."

The Crown Prosecution Service alleged that a senior Chinese Communist party politburo member received politically sensitive information from two British researchers charged with spying for China. That person is understood to be Cai Qi, a fifth-ranking standing committee member, former Beijing party secretary, and director of the CCP general office. The CPS alleged that between December 2021 and February 2023 a Chinese intelligence agent commissioned at least 34 reports from Christopher Berry containing information from Christopher Cash, who worked in Westminster for the China Research Group. Cai was promoted to the standing committee in October 2022. The CPS later dropped charges against Berry and Cash, citing lack of evidence, and the case prompted concerns about potential Chinese intelligence activity and British institutional understanding of Chinese politics.

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