MPs have announced a formal inquiry into the collapse of a case against two men accused of spying for China, following the publication of key witness statements by Downing Street. Matt Western, Labour MP and chair of the joint committee on national security strategy, told the House of Commons there were “a lot of questions yet to be asked” after the prosecution was unexpectedly dropped last month.
Charges against Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, a teacher, were abandoned after prosecutors said the government had not provided evidence that China posed a “threat to the national security of the UK”. Both men have denied any wrongdoing. The decision has sparked accusations of political interference to protect trade ties with Beijing.
Ministers released three witness statements from deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins, written in 2023 and 2025, which described Chinese intelligence agencies conducting “large-scale espionage operations” that “harm the interests and security of the UK”. The Cabinet Office minister Chris Ward insisted the decision to drop the case “was taken purely by the Crown Prosecution Service” and that Collins had acted independently.
Conservative MPs have questioned why Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not intervene to prevent the collapse, with former shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat accusing him of hiding behind process. However, Downing Street described the suggestion as “frankly absurd”, stating that intervention would have amounted to interference in a criminal matter related to a previous government.
Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson is now under pressure to explain why the CPS felt the evidence was insufficient. Health minister Stephen Kinnock noted that Parkinson had told MPs the evidence was “95% of the way there” but lacked a “5% gap”. The inquiry will seek to clarify this gap and the broader handling of the case.
