Starmer Publishes Evidence in Collapsed China Spy Case to Refute ‘Cover-Up’ Claims

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday released the testimony of a senior national security official in the collapsed prosecution of two men accused of spying for China, aiming to show that the case’s failure was not due to political interference.

Last month, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) unexpectedly dropped charges against the two British men, who had denied sharing politically sensitive information with a Chinese intelligence agent. The CPS said it could not proceed without formal evidence that the UK regarded China as a national security threat — evidence the government had not provided despite repeated requests.

The newly published documents, while detailing Chinese malign activity, stopped short of explicitly describing China as a national security threat.

Starmer said the blame lay with the previous Conservative government, under which the charges were filed, noting that it had only labeled Beijing an “epoch-defining challenge.” The trial’s collapse sparked accusations from Conservatives that the current government had avoided supplying evidence to preserve relations with China.

To counter those claims, Starmer published statements from Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Collins, which he said were produced without ministerial or political input.

In a statement dated February 21, Collins wrote: “China and the UK both benefit from bilateral trade and investment, but China also presents the biggest state-based threat to the UK’s economic security.” Another statement from August 4 described an “active espionage threat that China posed to the UK,” while also stressing the government’s desire for a “positive relationship” with Beijing to promote cooperation and stability.

Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch called the situation “a cover-up,” telling Parliament: “This all stinks of a cover-up.”

Starmer’s office said he was informed that the case was in danger of collapsing only days before it did, and that intervening would have been inappropriate.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “What has already been published shows the extent of the threat China poses to the UK, and makes it all the more shocking that the Prime Minister knew of the imminent collapse of this trial but did nothing to stop it.”

An earlier witness statement from December 2023 alleged that one of the defendants had been passing information to China about who was briefing then–Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on China-related matters.