Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was "very disappointed" at the collapse of a major Chinese spying case. She denied any ministerial interference in the decision to drop charges against two men accused of espionage.
The case against Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry was dropped on 15 September. The decision sparked criticism from Downing Street and MPs across the political divide.
Whitehall meeting allegations
The Sunday Times reported that senior Whitehall officials met to discuss the trial, including national security adviser Jonathan Powell and Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Oliver Robbins. The newspaper claimed this meeting influenced the prosecution's collapse.
Mahmood rejected these claims during an interview with BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. "I don't recognise that reporting about a meeting, I'm not aware of any such meeting taking place," she said.
Legal obstacles emerge
The prosecution faced a fundamental legal hurdle under the Official Secrets Act. Prosecutors needed to prove the defendants were acting for an "enemy", but the Government's national security strategy does not describe China using that term.
According to the Sunday Times, this meant deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins could not testify that Beijing was an enemy. Stephen Parkinson, chief prosecutor for England and Wales, cited an "evidential failure" as the reason for stopping proceedings.
Opposition demands answers
Shadow national security minister Alicia Kearns, who previously employed Cash, questioned whether there was "constitutional impropriety". She demanded Prime Minister Keir Starmer "find some backbone and root out the truth".
Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith criticised Britain's economic ties to China, particularly universities' reliance on Chinese student fees. "We are seen as the soft underbelly of the Western alliance," he said.
When asked directly whether China was an enemy, Mahmood described the country as a "challenge". She said Starmer's Government maintained a "hard-headed, realistic approach" to the Chinese state.
Sources used: "BBC", "The Sunday Times" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
