Downing Street: Charges dropped in China ‘spy’ case ‘extremely disappointing’

It is “extremely disappointing” that a former parliamentary researcher and another man will no longer face trial over allegations that they spied for China, Downing Street said.

Christopher Cash, 30, from Whitechapel, east London, and Christopher Berry, 33, of Witney, Oxfordshire, were each charged with the offence of spying under the Official Secrets Act.

The pair had denied allegations that they collected and communicated information which could be “useful to an enemy” between December 2021 and February 2023 and were set to face trial in October, but proceedings against them were stopped on Monday – with prosecutor Tom Little telling the Old Bailey that the “evidential stage of the case” was “no longer met”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “It is extremely disappointing that these individuals will not face trial. Any attempt by a foreign power to infiltrate our Parliament or democracy is unacceptable.

“The allegations made in this case are gravely concerning.

“Obviously the decision – made rightly independently of Government by the Crown Prosecution Service – as I say, will be disappointing to people that they will not face trial, and it doesn’t change our approach more generally to national security or to China, which always puts UK interests, national security interests, first.”

Mr Cash, who worked as a parliamentary researcher and was director of the China Research Group (CRG), described the proceedings as a “nightmare” while his barrister, Henry Blaxland KC, said his client was “entirely innocent and should never have been arrested”.

Outside court after the hearing on Monday morning, Mr Cash reportedly said: “While I am relieved that justice has been served today, the last two-and-a-half years have been a nightmare for me and my family.”

He said he hoped “lessons are learned from this sorry episode”.

Mr Cash was closely linked to then-senior Tories, including former security minister Tom Tugendhat and Alicia Kearns, who served as chairwoman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.

Speaking in the Commons, Ms Kearns branded the decision to drop the case “disastrous”, saying it had “weakened our defences of the country today, and I’m desperately sorry to see it”.

She said: “It remains unclear to me why Chris Cash and Christopher Berry cannot be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act. The evidence shows a clear line between these two, the United Front Work Department and the politburo, the very top of the Chinese Communist Party.

“This was information that was shared as prejudicial to the safety and interests of the UK, and I believe put members at personal risk.

“(Tom Tugendhat) was told by agency heads that evidence was overwhelming, the case beyond doubt, and counter-terrorism police this morning agreed and said the same to me, and that the evidential standard had been met at the time of charges.”

Mr Blaxland earlier told the Old Bailey the decision to prosecute his client was “ill-judged”, adding: “Lest there be any whispering campaign that he was fortunate that the prosecution ultimately elected not to proceed, we need to make it clear that our client is entirely innocent and should never have been arrested, let alone prosecuted.”

He also told the court: “In their witness statements, his colleagues at the China Research Group expressed disbelief that he could have been in some way acting as an agent of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party).

“That disbelief was founded on the fact that, as they knew and had witnessed, during the two years that he worked for them, he did more than anybody to assist in informing parliamentarians of the security risks involved in doing business with China, including in contributing to the drafting of legislation designed to reduce those risks.”

Mr Berry worked in various teaching posts in China since September 2015.

In a Commons statement on Monday afternoon, security minister Dan Jarvis echoed Downing Street in saying he was “extremely disappointed” over the decision to drop charges against Mr Cash and Mr Berry.

He said: “Many members will be as extremely disappointed as I am that there will now not be a trial.

“The decision not to proceed with this prosecution is an independent one for the CPS to make in its role as the UK’s independent prosecuting authority.

“However, I want to be clear that the Government remains gravely concerned about the threat of Chinese espionage.

“Parliament and our democracy are sacrosanct and any attempt by any foreign power to infiltrate or interfere with parliamentary proceedings is completely unacceptable.”

He added: “I can confirm that the Foreign Office has demarched the charge d’affaires at the Chinese embassy in London to make clear that we will not tolerate any activity that interferes in our democracy.”

Mr Jarvis also said the National Security Act puts the authorities in a “much better place” to prosecute in cases of suspected espionage.

He explained the Act “is state agnostic, removing the unhelpful ‘enemy’ language from the Official Secrets Act and focusing on the malign activity we are all concerned about”, and added that the new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme “encourages transparency”.

When the charges were announced, China dismissed them as “self-staged political farce”.

An embassy spokesman said at the time: “I would like to reaffirm that the claim that China is suspected of ‘stealing British intelligence’ is completely fabricated and nothing but malicious slander.

“We firmly oppose it and urge the UK side to stop anti-China political manipulation and stop putting on such self-staged political farce.”