Christopher Cash, 30, a former researcher for a Conservative MP, and Christopher Berry, 33, a teacher, both denied allegations of passing sensitive information to an alleged Chinese intelligence agent between 2021 and 2023. The Crown Prosecution Service unexpectedly dropped charges against them last month, leading to political backlash.
The director of public prosecutions in the U.K. stated the case fell apart because evidence was not obtained from the government regarding China as a national security threat. The opposition Conservatives, who were in power when the men were charged in April 2024, have criticized the current Labour government, accusing it of being “too weak to stand up to Beijing on a crucial matter of national security.”
In a rare move, the government published three witness statements provided by Collins to the CPS between December 2023 and August 2025.
In the most recent statement, Collins claimed that Chinese intelligence services are “highly capable and conduct large scale espionage operations against the UK to advance the Chinese state’s interests and harm the interests and security of the UK. China’s espionage operations threaten the UK’s economic prosperity and resilience, and the integrity of our democratic institutions.”
However, Collins also stressed that the U.K. government aims for a “positive” relationship with Beijing. Its stance is to “co-operate where we can; compete where we need to; and challenge where we must, including on issues of national security,” he stated.
Leave a Reply