TOM Tugendhat has slammed Labour’s explanation for why the China spy trial collapsed – claiming their excuse is total rubbish.
The former security minister said the fact the government could not produce a civil servant to brand China as a national security threat for the trial was a “political decision”.
Tom Tugendhat slammed Labour’s excuse for the high profile Chinese spy trial collapsing
Tory MP Tugendhat slammed Keir Starmer’s government for not being able to produce a civil servant to claim China was a national security threat
Statements made by government officials labelling China as a danger to the UK were vital to keeping the espionage case against and Chris Cash alive.
Tugendhat, who set up the research group Cash worked for, said of Starmer’s excuse: “He’s not actually blaming us – he’s blaming the intelligence services and the .
“He’s saying that they didn’t understand the prosecution they were bringing, that they didn’t understand the case that they were making – and that therefore they made an unsubstantiated arrest.”
He added: “That’s a very extraordinary thing to say.”
The Tory MP also highlighted his own claim in the dispatch box to in April 2024, where he labelled China as a “principal national security threat”.
Emphasising the strength of the espionage case against Cash and Berry, Tugendhat said: “The police were very careful.”
It comes after Britain’s top prosecutor blamed Labour for the collapse of the trial.
In a striking admission, Stephen Parkinson, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the (CPS) spent “many months” trying to secure witness statements confirming posed a danger to the UK.
The prosecution collapsed on September 15, when barrister Tom Little KC told the Old Bailey: “We simply cannot continue to prosecute this case.”
In a new letter to MPs, Parkinson said: “Notwithstanding the fact that further witness statements were provided, none of these stated that at the time of the offence China represented a threat to national security, and by late August 2025 it was realised that this evidence would not be forthcoming.”
The letter triggered a fierce political row, with the Prime Minister on Tuesday insisting the blame lay with the former Tory government for failing to formally label a threat, leaving Labour unable to do so retrospectively.
Earlier this month, Mr Parkinson had blamed an “evidential failure” for the trial’s collapse but gave no further explanation.
He has now referred to a High ruling in a separate Russian spy case last year.
That ruling found that an “enemy” under the 1911 Official Secrets Act must mean a country that, at the time of the alleged offence, posed a real threat to the UK’s national security.
Mr Parkinson said that after this judgement, prosecutors again sought evidence from the government, but no witnesses would confirm China met the definition of an enemy.
Cash, a former head of a China policy group, and Berry were charged under the Official Secrets Act in April 2024.
They were accused of collecting and passing on information that could have aided an enemy.
Both men have denied any wrongdoing.
Tonight, on his way to , Sir Keir confirmed he had been briefed throughout the process.
He argued that because the Conservatives were in at the time of the alleged offence – and had not classed China as a threat – the could not be applied retroactively.
The PM said: “Let me just be really clear about this.
“What matters is what the designation was in 2023, because that’s when the offence was committed and that’s when the relevant period was.
“Therefore, statements were drawn up at the time according to the then government policy, and they haven’t been changed in relation to it, that was the position then.
“You can’t prosecute someone two years later in relation to a designation that wasn’t in place at the time.”
The Sun reported earlier this month that the prosecution of the two men accused of spying for China was blocked despite evidence provided by MI5, it has been claimed (pictured Christopher Cash)
Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry (pictured) had charges against them dropped last month
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