A key witness in the failed prosecution of two men accused of spying for China said he was «surprised» the case had collapsed, given he had said Beijing posed a range of threats.
Matthew Collins, the deputy national security adviser, also told a parliamentary hearing on Monday that he had been «disappointed» at the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service in September to drop the legal proceedings.
Yet the director of public prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, appearing before the same committee of MPs and peers, said an inability by Mr Collins specifically to describe the Chinese state as a national security threat was a «fatal» blow to their case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry.
Mr Parkinson similarly said he had been «disappointed and frustrated» at the collapse of the high-profile trial.
But he claimed his team of prosecutors had tried every avenue and concluded that a successful prosecution would not be possible.
Despite the strong defence of the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision, members of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy appeared visibly bemused about why the trial was derailed, given the evidence available of the threat posed by China.
A ‘range’ of security threats
Mr Collins said he submitted three witness statements that set out how the communist state posed a «range» of security threats, including espionage as well as threats to the UK’s democratic institutions, its economy and in cyberspace.
«Throughout the period… I was trying to ensure that we could support a successful prosecution. I was somewhat surprised that the intention was to drop the case,» he said.
Appearing separately, though, Mr Parkinson explained that his team «weren’t quite there» when it came to establishing that Beijing posed a threat to the UK’s national security between 2021 and 2023 when the alleged offences took place.
He said he had thought it would be easy to obtain in writing from Mr Collins a statement about the threat that met the threshold to be able to bring the case to trial.
Fourteen months of waiting – then a ‘no’
But the director of public prosecutions said this proved to be a «sticking point» and after 14 months of waiting for a reply from him, it came back as «no».
«It took quite a lot of effort on our part to try to get the answer,» he told the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy.
«What you could not do as a prosecutor is tell people what to say.»
(L-R) Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry have always denied any wrongdoing. Pics: Reuters
Asked whether he felt disappointed at the failure to prosecute the case, Mr Parkinson said: «We did feel disappointed and frustrated.»
Tom Little KC, first senior treasury council, who was a key prosecutor involved in the case, said the inability of Mr Collins to state in his witness statement that China was a threat to national security during the relevant period brought the case to a «crashing halt».
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However, Lord Mark Sedwill, a former national security adviser and a member of the committee, pointed out that Mr Collins, who once worked for him, was only able to reflect government policy, which sees China as posing security threats but also economic opportunities.
He asked Mr Parkinson why prosecutors did not seek other witnesses, such as former intelligence chiefs who could clearly state as fact that China posed a threat to national security.
Mr King and Mr Parkinson, however, said in their judgement that the inability of Mr Collins to make that statement would have derailed the case.
Mr Cash and Mr Berry have always denied any wrongdoing.