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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Amy Hawkins and Dan Sabbagh

China’s fifth-ranking official was suspect in dropped Westminster spy case

Cai Qi Christopher Berry Xi Jinping China CPS Westminster Christopher Cash CCP Kerry Brown Stephen Parkinson
Members of the Chinese Communist party leadership stand in a formal line on a red carpet facing a line of wreaths of flowers in tall wicker baskets with flowing red ribbons.
Cai Qi (fourth from right) was among CCP leaders, including Xi Jinping (second from right), attending a ceremony in Tiananmen Square on Tuesday. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

British prosecutors suspected that China’s fifth most senior official was in receipt of intelligence from Westminster in a controversial and now-abandoned espionage case, the Guardian understands.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in April 2024 that a “senior member of the Chinese Communist party and a politburo member” had received “politically sensitive information” from two British researchers who were charged with spying for China.

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