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The UK government and prosecutors have been heavily criticised over the collapse of a China spying case in an official report that described some of their actions as “shambolic”.
The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, which has been reviewing the collapse of the case against two British men accused of spying on MPs for China, said its investigation had found that “systemic failures” contributed to the failure in bringing a prosecution.
The report found the process between the government and the Crown Prosecution Service was “beset by confusion and misaligned expectations”.
It added: “Some aspects are best described as shambolic.”
The report said, however, that it “did not find evidence” of “a co-ordinated high-level effort to collapse the prosecution, nor of deliberate efforts to obstruct it.” This, in effect, cleared the government of the most serious charge laid by critics.
The case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry collapsed in September after the government was unwilling or unable to define China as an “enemy” or “national security threat” in evidence for the CPS. Both men have always denied any wrongdoing.
The case was brought under the Official Secrets Act of 1911, which has since been superseded by the National Security Act due to inherent flaws in the old legislation, such as the need to define a country as an enemy that would enable a prosecution.
The case’s collapse led to allegations that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government had undermined the prosecution as it tried to build trade ties with Beijing, something Downing Street has always denied.
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[The chair of the joint committee Matt] Western said 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”.
The report said the “episode reflects poorly on the otherwise commendable efforts across public servants to keep this country safe.”
