A Chinese spying trial collapsed after the government refused to brand Beijing a threat to national security, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Stephen Parkinson has said, after trying “over many months” to get the evidence it needed to carry out the prosecution. The case against Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry was dropped on 15 September 2025, sparking criticism from Downing Street and MPs from both sides of the political aisle.
The decision reportedly came after senior Whitehall officials met to discuss the trial, including National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell and the Foreign Office’s 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 “enemy.”
Sir Keir Starmer insisted that as the alleged offences took place under the previous Conservative government, that administration’s approach to China had to be considered in courtroom evidence. The Prime Minister also suggested other recent espionage-related case law had impacted on the CPS’s ability to prosecute.
Mr Cash and Mr Berry have denied all wrongdoing.
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