Keir Starmer has pledged to release crucial evidence from a collapsed espionage case involving China in its entirety. The Prime Minister informed MPs that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had advised the government to disclose a significant witness statement authored by Matthew Collins, the deputy national security adviser.
The case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, accused of sharing classified information with China, was unexpectedly dropped by the CPS on September 15. Both individuals, who have denied any misconduct, had the charges against them dismissed last month.
The case’s collapse prompted a rare statement from the director of public prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, who indicated that evidence linking the case to China’s national security threat was unavailable. Prosecutors would have needed to demonstrate that the defendants were acting on behalf of an “enemy” under the Official Secrets Act. Starmer clarified that the witness statement was based on the previous government’s stance on China at the time of the alleged incident.
Expressing disappointment over the case’s dismissal, the PM emphasized that the former Conservative government’s reviews avoided labeling China as an enemy but highlighted the need for heightened national security measures in response to the perceived threat posed by China.
Starmer asserted that no ministers or special advisers under the current government were involved in providing evidence and acknowledged that he could not speak to the previous government’s actions. Following pressure to disclose the government’s evidence, the PM stated that, upon legal advice, he had decided to release the witness statement in its entirety, emphasizing transparency in the process.
He also highlighted that if legislative updates had been implemented sooner, stemming from a review initiated in 2015, the individuals involved could have faced prosecution, averting the current situation.
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