Downing Street has yet again found itself tied up in knots of what looks like deceit. Only a few weeks ago, Keir Starmer ducked and weaved and dissembled before eventually sacking Lord Mandelson. Now he repeats the same behaviour.
The role of Number 10 in the collapse of the case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry – charged with passing “politically sensitive information” to a Chinese intelligence agent – is in serious question.
On September 15, Dan Jarvis, the security minister, announced to uproar in the Commons that the case against the two men had been dropped, but that the Crown Prosecution Service was responsible. The Government repeated the line for weeks. Then, last Tuesday, director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson wrote an explosive letter rebutting the Government’s claims.
He said that the CPS had for months sought confirmation from Downing Street that China would be treated as an “enemy” for the purposes of the prosecution. Yet, during the relevant period, he wrote that it did not receive any communication affirming China posed a threat to national security, leaving no other choice but to stop the case.
The Government would have known that without such a statement, the CPS would need to collapse the case.
In desperation, Starmer was forced to put a statement out saying that the Government could not do what the CPS required, as the then Conservative government had not said China was a threat at that time of the alleged spying.
However, the last government’s Integrated Review Refresh, published in 2023 one month before the two defendants were arrested, was clear: “The UK will further strengthen our national security protections in those areas where the actions of the CCP pose a threat to our people, prosperity and security.
“This means protecting ourselves at home, particularly our economy, democratic freedoms, critical national infrastructure, supply chains and our ability to generate strategic advantage through science and technology.”
Furthermore, MI5 chief Ken McCullum was repeatedly made statements at the time about the severity of the threat posed by China.
After Parkinson’s rebuttal, Simon Case, who served as cabinet secretary under both Sir Keir and Rishi Sunak, challenged Starmer’s account. He said that intelligence agencies had publicly described China as a threat for years, suggesting there was enough evidence to go ahead with the trial.
We know that China wanted the trial stopped, and we also know that the Government is desperate to trade with Beijing. This desperation for trade is behind Labour’s overall weak policy towards China. We can see the hand of the Jonathan Powell, the national security adviser, in all of this. We know he has links to China, and we can even see his hand in the abortive Chagos deal, which China has praised.
Despite denials, Powell also reportedly chaired a Whitehall meeting that preceded the decision to drop the case. In this meeting, legal strategy was discussed, in particular the refusal to characterise China as an “enemy”. It has also been reported elsewhere that he overruled MI5.
This twisted web of obfuscation at the centre of Downing Street is now a direct threat to the national security of our nation and all we stand for.
This Government is rushing headlong into a new project to kowtow to China. They want to give them a new super embassy with more spies, all while turning a blind eye to the threat Beijing poses to Hong Kong dissidents living in Britain. This is happening while China is reportedly threatening to turn off the water supply to our embassy in Beijing.
Only a few weeks ago, we faced the spectacle of President Xi arm in arm with Putin and Kim Jong-un in Beijing. At that meeting, he made it clear that China, now at the centre of an axis of authoritarian states, was united in its determination to forge a new world order. This is what the Government wants to suck up to in the pursuit of a trade arrangement.
Downing Street has yet again found itself tied up in knots of what looks like deceit. Only a few weeks ago, Keir Starmer ducked and weaved and dissembled before eventually sacking Lord Mandelson. Now he repeats the same behaviour.
The role of Number 10 in the collapse of the case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry – charged with passing “politically sensitive information” to a Chinese intelligence agent – is in serious question.
On September 15, Dan Jarvis, the security minister, announced to uproar in the Commons that the case against the two men had been dropped, but that the Crown Prosecution Service was responsible. The Government repeated the line for weeks. Then, last Tuesday, director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson wrote an explosive letter rebutting the Government’s claims.
He said that the CPS had for months sought confirmation from Downing Street that China would be treated as an “enemy” for the purposes of the prosecution. Yet, during the relevant period, he wrote that it did not receive any communication affirming China posed a threat to national security, leaving no other choice but to stop the case.
The Government would have known that without such a statement, the CPS would need to collapse the case.
In desperation, Starmer was forced to put a statement out saying that the Government could not do what the CPS required, as the then Conservative government had not said China was a threat at that time of the alleged spying.
However, the last government’s Integrated Review Refresh, published in 2023 one month before the two defendants were arrested, was clear: “The UK will further strengthen our national security protections in those areas where the actions of the CCP pose a threat to our people, prosperity and security.
“This means protecting ourselves at home, particularly our economy, democratic freedoms, critical national infrastructure, supply chains and our ability to generate strategic advantage through science and technology.”
Furthermore, MI5 chief Ken McCullum was repeatedly made statements at the time about the severity of the threat posed by China.
After Parkinson’s rebuttal, Simon Case, who served as cabinet secretary under both Sir Keir and Rishi Sunak, challenged Starmer’s account. He said that intelligence agencies had publicly described China as a threat for years, suggesting there was enough evidence to go ahead with the trial.
We know that China wanted the trial stopped, and we also know that the Government is desperate to trade with Beijing. This desperation for trade is behind Labour’s overall weak policy towards China. We can see the hand of the Jonathan Powell, the national security adviser, in all of this. We know he has links to China, and we can even see his hand in the abortive Chagos deal, which China has praised.
Despite denials, Powell also reportedly chaired a Whitehall meeting that preceded the decision to drop the case. In this meeting, legal strategy was discussed, in particular the refusal to characterise China as an “enemy”. It has also been reported elsewhere that he overruled MI5.
This twisted web of obfuscation at the centre of Downing Street is now a direct threat to the national security of our nation and all we stand for.
This Government is rushing headlong into a new project to kowtow to China. They want to give them a new super embassy with more spies, all while turning a blind eye to the threat Beijing poses to Hong Kong dissidents living in Britain. This is happening while China is reportedly threatening to turn off the water supply to our embassy in Beijing.
Only a few weeks ago, we faced the spectacle of President Xi arm in arm with Putin and Kim Jong-un in Beijing. At that meeting, he made it clear that China, now at the centre of an axis of authoritarian states, was united in its determination to forge a new world order. This is what the Government wants to suck up to in the pursuit of a trade arrangement.