Starmer Faces Pressure After Collapse of Alleged China Spy Case

Shiva K Dhakal
National Press Corporation(NPC)
United Kingdom—The head of MI5, Sir Ken McCallum, has said he is “frustrated” that a high-profile case involving two men accused of spying for China collapsed, warning that Chinese state operatives pose a daily threat to the UK’s national security.

In a rare public speech, Sir Ken revealed that MI5 had recently disrupted Chinese activity of national security concern, but said it was “deeply frustrating when prosecutions fall through”.The comments come amid growing political fallout over why the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to drop espionage charges against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry in September. Both men were accused of working on behalf of Beijing but denied wrongdoing.

The CPS said it lacked sufficient evidence to prove China was a national security threat during the alleged offences between 2021 and 2023. However, newly published witness statements from the UK’s deputy national security adviser, Matthew Collins, describe “large-scale espionage” by China and call it “the biggest state-based threat to Britain’s economic security.”

Sir Ken praised Collins as “a man of high integrity” and reiterated that Chinese state actors represent a serious and ongoing threat. “When it comes to China, the UK must defend itself resolutely against threats and seize opportunities that serve our nation,” he said.

Political Tensions Deepen

The opposition Conservatives have accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government of allowing the case to collapse for fear of damaging trade relations with China.Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch wrote to the Prime Minister, saying his government had “undermined Britain’s national security because it was too weak to stand up to China.”Downing Street dismissed the claim, saying it would have been “absurd” for the Prime Minister to intervene in an independent criminal process handled by the CPS.

In his reply, Starmer argued the case depended on the stance of the former Conservative government, which had not officially designated China as a national security threat during the period in question — making prosecution legally difficult.

Calls for Public Inquiry

Senior MPs from across parties have demanded a public inquiry into why the prosecution collapsed.
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller said the incident raised “yet more unanswered questions” and called for a “statutory public inquiry to get to the bottom of this fiasco.”

Meanwhile, both Cash and Berry insist they are innocent. Cash said he had been put in an “impossible position” without a public trial to prove his innocence, while Berry maintained his reports for a Chinese company contained only publicly available information.The CPS maintains that the case was just short of the evidential threshold for prosecution, and that no political interference took place.

Despite the controversy, intelligence officials have reiterated that China’s espionage threat is growing. MI5 says it continues to “disrupt hostile state activities” to protect UK democracy and economic interests.