An extraordinary disclosure by Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, on Tuesday evening has triggered a political row over who was behind the sudden abandonment of a high-profile espionage case.
Two Britons had been accused of acting as spies for China. One of them, Christopher Cash, was a parliamentary researcher for the Conservative backbencher Alicia Kearns, specialising in China issues. A trial had been due to start in October, but three weeks ago the Crown Prosecution Service dropped proceedings with little explanation until Tuesday.
