FT: UK government accused of derailing China spy case to shield ties with Beijing

Sir Keir Starmer’s government is facing mounting criticism after senior officials accused it of undermining a high-profile espionage case involving alleged Chinese spying in Westminster to safeguard Britain’s commercial and diplomatic relations with Beijing, the Financial Times (FT) reports.

According to senior UK officials, prosecutors’ decision last month to drop charges against two men accused of passing information to China followed a heated dispute between the Home Office and Starmer’s security advisers, supported by the Foreign Office. The Home Office reportedly wanted to proceed with the case, while others within government were concerned about straining relations with China, the UK’s third-largest trading partner.

The case collapsed when senior security officials refused to testify that China could be legally defined as an “enemy” — a crucial element for prosecution under the Official Secrets Act. This stance contradicted earlier testimony in a separate espionage trial against Bulgarian nationals accused of spying for Russia, where security officials successfully argued that a hostile state was any nation posing a threat to national security.

Despite the UK’s National Security Strategy warning in June about China’s “espionage” and “interference in our democracy,” the same document also highlighted the government’s desire to expand trade and reduce “misunderstandings” in its relationship with Beijing.

The abandoned prosecution had accused Christopher Cash, 30, a parliamentary researcher linked to a China policy group, and Christopher Berry, 33, of leaking sensitive information to Chinese intelligence. Both men denied wrongdoing and were due to stand trial this month before the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to proceed, citing an “evidential failure.”

The dispute reportedly came to a head during a September meeting chaired by Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s national security adviser, and attended by senior officials including deputy adviser Matthew Collins and Foreign Office permanent under-secretary Olly Robbins. At the meeting, Collins allegedly informed Home Office representatives that he could not testify China was an enemy, effectively undermining the prosecution’s case.

Officials close to the government denied that any political interference occurred, insisting the CPS made its decision independently after reviewing the evidence. A Cabinet Office spokesperson dismissed claims of Downing Street pressure as “completely false” and said there had been “no material change in the evidence.”

However, several MPs, including Alicia Kearns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, have demanded transparency. “Starmer had the power to make sure the trial could proceed,” she said, calling on the government to “disclose the decision-making process to the British people.”

By Vugar Khalilov