The United Kingdom prosecutors on Monday dropped charges against two British men, including a former parliamentary researcher, who were arrested and accused of spying for China in 2023. Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 33, were accused of collecting information that could be “directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy” between December 2021 and February 2023.
Both denied the charges made under the UK’s Official Secrets Act and were due to face trial in October, but prosecutors dropped the charges at a hearing on Monday at London’s Old Bailey criminal court.
Prosecutor Tom Little told the court the case “no longer met” the level of evidence needed.
Cash was a parliamentary researcher, sparking concern of a major security breach. He reportedly shared close ties with senior Conservative lawmakers, including the former security minister Tom Tugendhat.
Berry had worked in teaching positions in China since 2015.
Speaking outside court after the hearing, Cash said he was “relieved that justice has been served”, describing the last two years as a “nightmare”.
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Prosecutors said the men were friends and that Berry had worked in China in various posts since 2015. They were accused of passing politically sensitive information to a Chinese intelligence agent.
Cash’s lawyer Henry Blaxland said his colleagues were surprised by the accusations as he “did more than almost anybody to insist on informing parliamentarians of the security risk” of doing business with China.
London has previously said Chinese spies were targeting British officials in sensitive positions in politics, defence and business as part of an increasingly sophisticated operation to gain access to secrets.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said in parliament he was “extremely disappointed” with the decision not to take the case to trial and that the government “remains gravely concerned about the threat of Chinese espionage”.
He added that Britain’s Foreign Office had contacted the Chinese embassy in London “to make clear that we will not tolerate any activity that interferes in our democracy”.
