Charges Dropped Against Two Men Accused of Spying for China
LONDON – Charges against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, who were arrested in March 2023 on suspicion of collecting facts useful to an enemy, have been dropped, a court heard today. The Crown Prosecution Service determined the evidence did not meet the threshold for trial, leading prosecutor tom Little to state, “we simply cannot continue to prosecute this case.”
The pair were accused of gathering information “calculated to be, might be, or were intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy.” Their arrest sparked controversy, notably given Mr. Cash’s reported connections to Parliament’s China Research Group (CRG) and access to Conservative MPs, including former security minister Tom Tugendhat and Alicia Kearns, then-chairwoman of the foreign affairs committee.
At a hearing today, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb entered not guilty verdicts for both men. Mr. Berry described his arrest as a “nightmare” and expressed hope that “lessons are learned from this sorry episode.” Henry Blaxland KC, defending Mr. Cash, said his client’s colleagues at the CRG had “expressed disbelief” at his arrest and hoped he would be able to “rebuild his life.”
The Home Office expressed disappointment that the men would not face trial “given the seriousness of the allegations,” but affirmed it would “continue to use the full range of tools and powers to guard against malign activity.”
The case unfolds against a backdrop of heightened concern over Chinese espionage activity in the UK. The government has previously stated that Chinese spies are targeting officials across the political, defense, and business sectors. In december 2023, senior judges upheld MI5’s warning regarding Christine Lee, an alleged Chinese agent who infiltrated Parliament, and Yang Tengbo, a businessman banned from the UK over alleged spying, both of whom deny the accusations. The Chinese embassy previously dismissed claims of intelligence theft as ”completely fabricated” and accused the UK of “anti-China political manipulation.”
