Starmer faces further pressure to ‘come clean’ over China ‘spy’ case

Sir Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure over the collapse of the trial of alleged Chinese spies after the country’s chief prosecutor blamed ministers for failing to provide the crucial evidence needed to proceed.

The Prime Minister has insisted the previous Tory administration’s stance on China was the reason for the case being dropped, because it had not deemed Beijing to be a threat to national security.

The Government faces calls to explain the situation to Parliament after the director of public prosecutions (DPP) Stephen Parkinson said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had tried “over many months” to get the evidence it needed but it had not been forthcoming from Sir Keir’s administration.

Critics have pointed to Sir Keir’s attempts to build relations with the world’s second-biggest economy as a possible reason for the Government’s reluctance to label China an “enemy” or threat to national security.

The Government has labelled China a “sophisticated and persistent challenge” but Sir Keir said it was the previous government’s views which counted in the court case because that was what applied when the alleged offences occurred – and the Tories had not called Xi Jinping’s country a threat either.

The case against Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry – who both denied charges under the Official Secrets Act – was dropped on September 15.

Mr Cash had previously worked for senior Tory MP Alicia Kearns, who called on ministers to “come clean” about the collapse of the case following the DPP’s comments.

She told the PA news agency: “For weeks, Labour have stonewalled the British people.

“Now the CPS has taken the extraordinary step of revealing our own Government refused to co-operate with them, confirming serious questions about constitutional impropriety.

“The Government must come clean – who is responsible for spiking the prosecution?

“Continued stonewalling only invites further concern of concealment or conspiracy.

“Labour has managed to undermine our law enforcement, the security services and our prosecutors whilst sending a message to China and the British people that they won’t defend our democracy.”

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller said: “China is clearly a threat to UK national security. The head of MI6 said this in 2021.

“It is shocking that a case against two men accused of acting on China’s behalf to acquire secret information from MPs has collapsed because Government ministers and officials have refused to confirm China is a menace.

“The Government should tell Parliament who made the decision not to provide evidence to the CPS.

“The Intelligence and Security Committee should investigate whether the Government is doing enough to protect our democracy and national security from China.

“Instead of trying to win favour with Beijing ahead of a visit next year, the Prime Minister should show some backbone, call China out for its behaviour and place it – with Russia and Iran – on the enhanced tier of Firs (the foreign influence registration scheme).”

In a letter to the chairs of the Commons Home Affairs and Justice Committees, the DPP said the CPS had sought further evidence after a High Court ruling in a separate case meant prosecutors now had to show China represented a threat to the UK’s national security.

“Efforts to obtain that evidence were made over many months, but notwithstanding the fact that further witness statements were provided, none of these stated that at the time of the offence China represented a threat to national security, and by late August 2025 it was realised that this evidence would not be forthcoming,” Mr Parkinson said.

“When this became apparent, the case could not proceed.”

Sir Keir insisted that as the alleged offences took place between December 2021 and February 2023, the Tory administration’s approach to China had to be considered in courtroom evidence.

The Tories at the time declined to describe China as a threat, and the Prime Minister told reporters: “Therefore statements were drawn up at the time according to the then-government policy, and they haven’t been changed in relation to it, that was the position then.

“I might just add, nor could the position change, because it was the designation at the time that matters. You can’t prosecute someone two years later in relation to a designation that wasn’t in place at the time.

“So this has to be the position of the last government, I’m not saying that defensively, because that was the last government.”

Asked if he laid the blame for the charges being withdrawn at the door of the CPS, Sir Keir suggested he was “not expressing a view one way or the other”.