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sir keir starmerteam had access to “multiple” documents that prove China was a national security risk before The collapse of an espionage case, shadow home secretary This claim has been made amid growing questions over the government’s willingness to fight. Beijing,
chris phillip It claimed the government could have handed these papers over to prosecutors but “chose not to”, accusing ministers of “destroying the prosecution” of two men accused of spying for Beijing.
The case against Christopher Cash, 30, Christopher Berry, 33, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, 33, a teacher, fell last month after the government did not provide evidence that Beijing was a national security threat.
Mr Cash and Mr Berry were charged by the CPS in April last year with spying under the Official Secrets Act 1911, when they were accused of collecting and communicating information that could be “useful to the enemy”. Both denied the allegations.
Sir Keir has said that because the previous Conservative administration did not designate China as a national security threat, his government could not provide evidence of intent, which the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Stephen Parkinson said was necessary to meet the threshold for prosecution.
But the collapse of the case has raised questions about Britain’s willingness to confront China as Sir Keir’s government seeks closer ties with the country.
Mr Parkinson blamed ministers for failing to provide the vital evidence needed to proceed, and said the CPS had tried “for many months” to gather the material.
I am writing many timesMr Philip said: “The DPP is calling out the Government. Keir Starmer’s excuse is that the previous Government did not publicly classify China as a national security threat.
“There is no delicate way of saying this: what the Prime Minister said is completely false – and it is not a legal test anyway.”
Mr Philip, who was Home Office minister between October 2022 and July 2024, said: “The Government has a number of internal documents and reports on the threat posed by China to national security over the period 2021-23.
“I have spoken to colleagues who were relevant ministers at the time and they have told me that these documents exist.
“As a former minister, I know this from my time in the government myself.
“The government has a lot of information about the threat to national security from China trying to acquire sensitive technologies through nefarious means, including at the relevant time.
“Starmer’s government could have privately disclosed these documents to the CPS if necessary. It chose not to do so.
“Instead it destroyed the prosecution by refusing to disclose essential evidence to the CPS – evidence that is in the government’s possession – and instead provided unhelpful witness statements.”
Meanwhile, crossbench peer Lord Sedwill, who served as national security adviser from 2017 to 2020, during which he was also Britain’s most senior civil servant, said he was “genuinely shocked” about the collapse of the trial.
“The truth is, China is a national security threat to the UK both directly, through cyber, through espionage and so on, and indirectly because of some of its aggressive behavior in the South China Sea and elsewhere,” the former cabinet secretary said, speaking on the Crisis Room podcast.
Jonathan Hall Casey, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, has said he is “investigating” the episode.
“I know a lot more about it now and I don’t think the public explanation that has been given so far has been adequate at all,” he told LBC.
“I personally find it confusing and I think when something like this happens, the public and everyone who was watching it says, well, how would Britain deal with this kind of behavior from China? It deserves a more detailed explanation.”
But speaking at a press conference in India on Thursday, Sir Keir said, having regard to the evidence put before the court on this issue, he could be “absolutely clear that no minister since this government was involved in any decision”.
He said: “This is not a party political issue. This is a matter of law. You can prosecute someone only on the basis of the situation he was in at the time of the alleged crime.”
“You can’t try them on a situation by situation basis because it could evolve over weeks, months, years. That’s a fundamental thing and that’s at the heart of this particular issue.”
Sir Keir also blamed the previous Tory administration for the failure of the trial, saying: “We were disappointed that the trial could not go ahead, but the position is very clear that the trial should have taken place under the previous Tory government based on the situation at the time.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who was Home Secretary until September, said she was “very disappointed” because she “wanted to prosecute this”.
But he also said the minister was “not involved in any evidence placed before the Crown Prosecution Service… because it was a criminal case”.
“As the Prime Minister has said, this was not only about the law that was in place at the time of the offence, but also about the stance of the government that was in place at the time of the offence, and it was not for us to say retrospectively what it should have been.”
He said: “Let’s be really clear, the activity that was alleged in this case should absolutely be illegal and should be prosecuted, and that’s why we have since supported changing the law to make it easier to prosecute cases like this.”
But in a rare intervention on Thursday, simon caseChallenged by who served as Cabinet Secretary between July 2020 and December 2024 Sir Keir claims government’s hands were tied From the previous Conservative government’s stance on whether China is officially a threat.
“Over the past few years, the heads of our intelligence agencies have publicly described the threat China poses to our national and economic security interests,” he said. Wire,