Good morning. It was meant to be a high-stakes trial that could have led to a first in legal history: Britons being convicted of spying for China. Instead, weeks before it was due to begin, the case collapsed.
The two men at the centre of the case – Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 33 – categorically deny accusations that they provided information about Westminster to China’s politburo, in breach of the Official Secrets Act, between December 2021 and February 2023. Last month, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) unexpectedly dropped the charges, initially saying only that the “evidential standard” was “no longer met,” a month before a high-profile trial had been due to start.
