Conflicting testimonies have emerged from key figures involved in the unsuccessful prosecution of two men accused of espionage on behalf of China, during their appearance before a parliamentary committee.
The charges against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, brought under the Official Secrets Act, were dropped by prosecutors in September. Both individuals maintain their innocence and deny any wrongdoing.
Stephen Parkinson, the Director of Public Prosecutions, attributed the decision to drop charges to Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Collins’ reluctance to classify Beijing as an active threat to national security.
However, Mr. Collins informed the committee that he had received legal counsel indicating that his testimony would be “enough” to proceed.
He stated that he was aware of the inherent “challenge” in the case, but that his efforts were focused on “trying to ensure that we could support a successful prosecution.”
Mr. Collins, who was slated to be the government’s primary witness, further noted: “And so I was somewhat surprised when I was told on 3 September that the intention was to drop the case.”
Conversely, Tom Little KC, who was to serve as the lead prosecuting barrister, expressed that he would be “surprised” if Mr. Collins was unaware that the prosecution would collapse without additional evidence.
Earlier in the session, Mr. Little stated that Mr. Collins “was clear to me that he would not say that China posed an active threat to national security at the material time.”
“That was in answer to what I regard as the million dollar question in the case, and once he had said that the current prosecution for those charges was effectively unsustainable.”
When questioned by the committee regarding the evidence he provided, Mr. Collins responded: “What I was able to say is that China poses a range of threats to our national security.”
“I was able to say that these include espionage threats, cyber threats, threats to our democratic institutions, threats to our economic security.”
“I would be able to say that these threats are very real and persistent, and the operational partners are dealing with them on a daily basis.”