Whitehall was ‘shambolic’ in dealing with collapsed China spy case
Whitehall officials presided over “shambolic” proceedings in the prosecution of two alleged Chinese spies, a report has suggested, with both government officials and prosecutors coming under fire over the collapse of the case.
A report by parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy said the collapse of the prosecution against former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash and the academic Christopher Berry came as a result of “confusion and misaligned expectations”. Both men deny all allegations.
The investigation into the collapse of the trial laid the blame on “questionable” decisions made by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and intelligence officials in the civil service while the “continued lack of clarity on China policy” under both the Labour and previous government failed to help the case.
The report’s chair Matt Western, the Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington, also raised questions on the time it took for the deputy national security adviser to offer prosecutors a second witness statement an the clarity of communications between Whitehall officials over evidence.
However, Western said he did not find any evidence of a “co-ordinated effort to collapse or obstruct the prosecution” despite media reports suggesting that the national security adviser Jonathan Powell, Labour’s political appointee, refused to label China as a threat to national security.
The collapse of the prosecution over the alleged Chinese spies came to the frustration of Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, MI5 boss Ken McCallum and several MPs. Sir Keir Starmer also said he was “deeply disappointed” by the decision by the CPS to drop the case.
CPS boss Stephen Parkinson said the case was dropped after it tried “over many months” to pursue further evidence from government officials of China’s threat, though some critics have criticised the chief prosecutor’s justification.
The report expressed surprised that the CPS did not proceed with the case.
China spy case collapse due to bad communications
In his witness statements, Collins described China as “the biggest state-based threat to the UK’s economic security” and said the country’s intelligence services “conduct large-scale espionage operations against the UK”.
However, in a final statement, he said the current government was “committed to pursuing a positive relationship with China” while using language from the Labour manifesto to describe the UK’s diplomatic approach with the country.
Western said the problems leading to the collapse of the case did not lie simply with “outdated” legislation. The report said poor communication between the civil service and the CPS, weak guidance around the relationship between the government and the civil service and delays in obtaining evidence also contributed to a disorderly process.
“We did find some decisions questionable, and some of the processes looked shambolic,” Western said.
“As the global security environment worsens, sensitive national security cases will arise more frequently. The government must show the public that it is confident in standing up to adversaries when required: failing to do so will corrode public trust in our institutions.”
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: “This is a damning indictment of the government’s handling of the China spy case.
“Not only has the investigation found ‘serious systemic failures and deficiencies’ – it has also found there was enough evidence to prosecute the alleged spies after all.
“Labour tried to blame the Conservatives for the collapse of the case, but this investigation exposes that lie for all to see. And what’s worse, it tells us there could be many more such cases.”
Embassy decision to be delayed
His speech came just a week before the government was expected to approve the country’s new “mega embassy” near the Tower of London.
However, new reports have suggested the decision will be delayed until January when Starmer is expected to visit China.
The proposed embassy has worried some City officials given the historic Royal Mint Court site in Tower Hamlets is positioned near key data cables connecting Canada with other parts of the capital, including Canary Wharf.
Security experts have told Morning Wire that concerns about the embassy site were “legitimate” while a number of elected officials at Canada Corporation have also voiced their concerns about the new embassy.