Oct. 8 (UPI) — A British spying case against two men collapsed just before going to trial for lack of evidence because the United Kingdom hadn’t labeled China as an “enemy,” the country’s top prosecutor said.
Stephen Parkinson, U.K. director of public prosecutions, said that while there was evidence to prosecute at the time charges were filed, there was a precedent set by another spying case earlier this year that changed the rules of evidence under the Official Secrets Act.
He said that China would have to be labeled a “threat to national security” at the time of the crimes. During that time, the government labeled China an “epoch-defining challenge.”
Christopher Berry, 33, of Oxfordshire, and Christopher Cash, 30, of Whitechapel and London, were charged with official secrets act offenses in April 2024. Cash is a former parliamentary researcher and Berry is a teacher.
Officials alleged that from Dec. 28, 2021, through Feb. 3, 2023, Berry was involved in spying activities for China, including obtaining, collecting, recording and other activities. Cash was accused of spying from Jan. 20, 2022, through Feb. 3, 2023. They both have denied wrongdoing.
Former U.K. parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash arrived at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London in April 2024. He and Christopher Berry were charged with spying for China, but their charges were dropped. File Photo by Tolga Akmen/EPA
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government’s description of China could not change retrospectively and had to be based on the position of the government when the crimes happened.
“Now that’s not a political to and fro, that’s a matter of law. You have to prosecute people on the basis of the circumstances at the time of the alleged offense,” Starmer told reporters. “So all the focus needs to be on the policy of the Tory government in place then.”
At a Conservative party conference, leader Kemi Badenoch said that the Labour party “deliberately collapsed the trial” because “the prime minister wants to suck up to Beijing.”
Starmer’s government has strongly denied these allegations.
“It is extremely disappointing that these individuals will not face trial,” it said. “Any attempt by a foreign power to infiltrate our parliament or democracy is unacceptable.”
The Chinese Embassy in London has called the allegations fabricated and dismissed them as “malicious slander.”
