PM Keir Starmer has been facing questions over the unexpected collapse of the China spy case – The Mirror breaks down all the details and developments in the case
The collapse of a case against two men accused of spying for China is continuing to dominate the headlines this week.
PM Keir Starmer has been facing questions over the unexpected collapse of the case last month after prosecutors turned the focus on the Government in a rare intervention.
It led to the Prime Minister taking the step to publish major evidence in relation to the case last night – which has now turned the spotlight back on the Crown Prosecution Service.
The Mirror has combed through the detail and developments of the complex case – here’s everything you need to know.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer publishes key evidence in collapsed China spy caseREAD MORE: PMQs LIVE: Kemi Badenoch’s ‘lawyer’ insult spectacularly backfires in tense row with Keir Starmer
1. What is the China spy case?
In 2023, Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry were arrested under the Official Secrets Act. The pair were later charged with spying offences in April 2024.
The case against them was suddenly dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on September 15 this year. Both men, who deny wrongdoing, had been accused of passing secrets to China.
Mr Cash last night said he is “completely innocent” and has been “placed in an impossible position” because he has not been able to prove it in a public trial.
2. Why did case collapse?
In July last year, a court case about Bulgarians spying for Russia ruled that an “enemy” under the Official Secrets Act is a “country which represents a current threat to the national security of the UK”. The case is important because it served as a precedent in the China spy case.
In order to prove the China spy case under the Official Secrets Act, prosecutors would have had to show the defendants were acting for an “enemy”.
When the China spy case collapsed, director of public prosecutions (DPP) Stephen Parkinson said evidence could not be obtained from the Government referring to China as a national security threat. It was a rare intervention and raised questions about why the Government had not provided more evidence to support the case.
3. What is the political row?
A huge row broke out after Mr Parkinson suggested the Government had not provided enough evidence on the threat of China. Questions swirled about whether ministers or senior security advisers had any part in the evidence given to the CPS, as well as speculation about what the evidence said.
Keir Starmer, who is himself a former director of public prosecutions, insisted there was no political interference in the case. Yesterday, at Prime Minister’s Questions, the PM announced he would publish the evidence submitted by the Government to the CPS in the China spy case, in a bid to quell the row.
He also highlighted that the “substantive evidence was provided in 2023 by the previous (Tory) government” and said a review by the Conservative Government was “very carefully worded to not describe China as an enemy”.
4. What did the witness statements say?
Late last night, three witness statements submitted to the CPS by deputy national security adviser (DNSA) Matthew Collins were published.
His first statement was published under the Conservative government in December 2023. It described Beijing as an “epoch-defining challenge” and warned the Chinese intelligence service are “highly capable and conduct large scale espionage operations against the UK”.
It added this may “harm the interests and security of the UK” but said the government will engage with China directly and “leave room for open, constructive and predictable relations”.
A second statement earlier this year under the current Labour government also warned of the “challenges” posed by the authoritarian state. It said the government was “committed to pursuing a positive economic relationship with China”.
In a third statement to the CPS – dated August 2025 – Mr Collins repeated the position of China being a challenge and warned of the “espionage threat”. “The 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,” he said.
“China’s espionage operations threaten the UK’s economic prosperity and resilience and the integrity of our democratic institutions.”
He also said the government was “committed to pursuing a positive relationship with China.”
5. What happens next?
Given the witness statements do discuss the threat of China, the tables appeared to have turned back to the CPS this morning. Prosecutors are now under further pressure to explain why they dropped the case.
According to ITV, CPS chief Mr Parkinson yesterday told senior MPs that the evidence provided by the government’s witness in the China spy case was “5% less than the evidence threshold that was needed”.
Government minister Stephen Kinnock this morning called on Mr Parkinson to explain why the evidence was not enough for the case to proceed.
“I think he’s the best person to explain what that 5% was missing was,” he told Sky News. “We are deeply disappointed that the prosecution didn’t go ahead. We think a big part of the reason for that was the abject failure of the previous government to update the legislation.”
6. Is the government in the clear?
The witness statements appear to have taken some pressure off the Government but it is still facing heat – especially from the Tories.
Kemi Badenoch has accused the Government of deliberately collapsing the case because “the prime minister wants to suck up to Beijing”. In a tetchy exchange at PMQs yesterday, Mr Starmer accused her of “playing politics with national security” after the Tory leader said the PM’s approach to the case “stinks of a cover-up”.
The Conservatives are still putting pressure on the Government, saying the publication of the witness statements “falls short” of what they had requested and urged the “China files” to be published in full. They have launched a “ReleaseTheChinaFiles” website – which asks people for support in their campaign. (It also brazenly asks people how they are going to vote in next year’s local elections…)
The Liberal Democrats said the China witness statements published by the Government raise further questions and called for a statutory inquiry. Party foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller said: “These witness statements are only part of the puzzle and raise yet more unanswered questions.”
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