UK officials face probe after Chinese ‘spy case’ collapsed – Bloomberg

Prosecutors dropped the investigation last month over a lack of evidence

Senior UK security officials will face a probe over a case involving two “Chinese spies” that was dropped, Bloomberg wrote on Tuesday. British newspapers have said the move was made to avoid souring relations with Beijing, one of London’s biggest trade partners.

Former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash and teacher Christopher Berry were charged with sharing “prejudicial information” with China in April last year. They have repeatedly denied all allegations since their arrest in 2023. Beijing has called London’s accusations of spying a “groundless and unacceptable smear.”

Last month, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the charges against the two men just weeks before trial. The prosecutors cited a lack of evidence – the decision, however, sparked outrage among MPs.

Senior security officials are expected to be grilled on the collapsed case at an upcoming parliamentary committee meeting, Bloomberg cited an anonymous source as saying.

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According to UK Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson, the case was dropped due to a lack of testimony.

None of the witness statements provided said that China “represented a threat to national security,” and by August of this year, the prosecution realized that “this evidence would not be forthcoming,” he wrote in a letter to MPs on Tuesday.

Parkinson cited a case from earlier this year in which the CPS convicted six Bulgarian nationals of feeding information to Russia, which was ruled to be an ‘enemy’ for the purposes of the Official Secrets Act.

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Moscow denied the spying allegations at the time, accusing London of trying to stir up anti-Russian hysteria.

The UK government has said it is not to blame for torpedoing the investigation, adding that it was a decision made by prosecutors who relied on language used by the previous government in its China policy.

London has recently moved to rebuild trade ties with Beijing, resuming Joint Economic and Trade Commission talks last month after a seven-year freeze.