The high-profile case against two men accused of spying for China collapsed after the government refused to brand Beijing a threat to national security, the chief prosecutor has said.
Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions (DPP) said the Crown Prosecution Service had tried âover many monthsâ to get the evidence it needed to carry out the prosecution, but it had not been forthcoming from the Labour government.
The case against Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry was dropped on 15 September, sparking criticism from Downing Street and MPs from both sides of the political divide.
The decision reportedly came after senior Whitehall officials met to discuss the trial, including national security adviser Jonathan Powell and the Foreign Officeâs top civil servant Sir Oliver Robbins, according to the Sunday Times.
To prove the case under the Official Secrets Act 1911, prosecutors would have had to show the defendants were acting for an âenemyâ.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended the government on Tuesday evening, insisting the decision to brand China a threat would have to have been taken under the previous Conservative administration.
In a letter to the chairmen of the home affairs and justice committees, Mr Parkinson said: âIt was considered that further evidence should be obtained.
âEfforts 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.
âWhen this became apparent, the case could not proceed.â
Mr Parkinson added that a High Court judgment in a separate Russian spying case last year ruled that an âenemyâ under the 1911 Act must be a country which represents a threat to the national security of the UK âat the time of the offenceâ.
Speaking as he travelled with a trade delegation to Mumbai, the Prime Minister defended his Government against accusations that its approach led the case to collapse.
Sir Keir insisted that as the alleged offences took place under the previous Conservative government, that administrationâs approach to China had to be considered in courtroom evidence.
The Tories at the time â including current leader, Kemi Badenoch â declined to describe China as a threat, and the Prime Minister told reporters: âTherefore statements were drawn up at the time according to the then-government policy, and they havenât been changed in relation to it, that was the position then.
âI might just add, nor could the position change, because it was the designation at the time that matters. You canât prosecute someone two years later in relation to a designation that wasnât in place at the time.
âSo this has to be the position of the last government, Iâm not saying that defensively, because that was the last government.â
Asked if he laid the blame for the charges being withdrawn at the door of the CPS, Sir Keir suggested he was ânot expressing a view one way or the otherâ, adding: âNor would I on what the DPP or CPS say, because itâs wise not to.â
Sir Keir also suggested other recent espionage-related case law had impacted on the CPSâs ability to prosecute.
Since the alleged spying offences took place, the National Security Act has superseded elements of the Official Secrets Act which require proof that someone is working for a state classed as an âenemyâ.
The Prime Ministerâs political opponents have suggested he has questions to answer about how the case ended.
Mr Cash and Mr Berry have denied all wrongdoing.
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference on Monday, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: âI canât imagine Jonathan Powell, whoâs one of Keir Starmerâs closest and most senior advisers, would have done that without discussing it with the Prime Minister first, so Keir Starmer now has some very serious questions to personally answer.â
Sir Keir told reporters he had been briefed on the process of the case.
