UK security officials are set to face scrutiny over the dropped case of two individuals accused of sharing sensitive information with China. The case against Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, a teacher, was discontinued last month by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) due to a lack of evidence. The two men had been charged with sharing “prejudicial information” with China in April 2023 and had denied all allegations.
The decision to drop the charges has sparked outrage among lawmakers, with some attributing the move to an attempt to maintain good relations with Beijing, a key trade partner for the UK. British newspapers have reported that the government did not want to sour relations with China, which has consistently denied the spying allegations as a “groundless and unacceptable smear.”
According to UK Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson, the case was dropped due to a lack of testimony from witnesses. None of the witness statements provided indicated that China posed a threat to national security, and by August this year, the prosecution realized that this evidence would not be forthcoming. Parkinson cited a similar case from earlier this year, in which six Bulgarian nationals were convicted of feeding information to Russia, which was deemed an “enemy” for the purposes of the Official Secrets Act.
The British government has denied any involvement in the decision to discontinue the investigation, stating that it was a decision made by prosecutors based on the language used by the previous government in its China policy. The UK has recently resumed trade talks with China, with the Joint Economic and Trade Commission meeting for the first time in seven years last month.
The dropped case is set to be scrutinized by a parliamentary committee, with top security officials expected to face questioning over the handling of the case. The incident highlights the complex and sensitive nature of international relations and the challenges of balancing trade and security interests. As the UK seeks to rebuild its trade ties with China, the case is likely to remain a topic of debate and discussion in the coming weeks.
