UK Prosecutors Drop Charges Against 2 Men Accused of Spying for China

Sep 16, 2025 - 09:58

Updated: 9 months ago

UK Prosecutors Drop Charges Against 2 Men Accused of Spying for China

Prosecutors have dropped charges against two British men, one of them a former Conservative Party parliamentary researcher, who had been accused of spying for China.

Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 33, appeared during a short hearing at the Central Criminal Court in London—better known as the Old Bailey—on Sept. 15.

The pair were due to go on trial at Woolwich Crown Court in London next month, but prosecutor Tom Little told the hearing that the case no longer met the evidential threshold.

“We simply cannot continue to prosecute,” Little said.

He gave no more details about the reasons for the change in the Crown Prosecution Service’s position. A judge said she was satisfied and formally recorded not guilty verdicts against the pair.

The prosecutor said Cash and Berry had both faced “a single offence of spying on behalf of a foreign power.”

Accused Is ‘Entirely Innocent’

Cash had worked as a parliamentary researcher for Conservative MPs. James Mulholland, counsel for Cash, said his client was “entirely innocent and should never have been arrested, let alone charged.”

It had been alleged that between Dec. 28, 2021, and Feb. 3, 2023, Cash and Berry, “for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the State, obtained, collected, recorded, published or communicated to any other person articles, notes, documents or information which were calculated to be, might be or were intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy.”

That is an offence contrary to section 1(1)(c) of the Official Secrets Act of 1911.

The Metropolitan Police previously said, “The foreign state to which the above charges relate is China.”

The Chinese communist regime in Beijing previously denied the allegations.

After the hearing, Cash told reporters outside the court, “While I am relieved that justice has been served today, the last two and a half years have been a nightmare for me and my family.”

He said he hoped “lessons are learned from this sorry episode.”

Berry—who has not yet spoken to reporters or issued a statement through his lawyers—worked in various teaching posts in China since September 2015.

‘Evidential Standard’ Not Met

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said in an email sent to The Epoch Times: “In accordance with the code for crown prosecutors, the evidence in this case has been kept under continuous review and it has now been determined that the evidential standard for the offence indicted is no longer met. No further evidence will be offered.”

The UK interior ministry, the Home Office, told The Epoch Times in a statement that the decision “not to proceed with prosecuting two individuals under the Official Secrets Act was made by the Crown Prosecution Service, entirely independently of government.”

“National security is the first duty of government and we remain steadfast in upholding this responsibility,” the Home Office said. "We will continue to use the full range of tools and powers to guard against malign activity. The introduction of the National Security Act has strengthened our ability to protect the UK, and to detect, disrupt, and deter any state activity seeking to undermine our democratic institutions.”

Reuters contributed to this report.