Sir Keir Starmer has said he has “full confidence” in national security adviser Jonathan Powell following the collapse of the China spy trial.
The prime minister said the senior civil servant is doing an “excellent job”, amid questions over whether he played a role in the case being abandoned.
Christopher Cash, 30, a former parliamentary researcher, and teacher Christopher Berry, 33, were accused of spying for China – a charge they denied – but weeks before their trial was due to begin, it was suddenly dropped.
The director of public prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, has blamed ministers for failing to provide evidence that would support the assertion that China represented a threat to national security, leading to accusations of a cover-up from the Tories.
However, Downing Street blamed the Conservatives for failing to classify China as a threat while in office – when the charges were brought against the pair – and for failing to update the “archaic” Official Secrets Act.
Asked today if he supported Mr Powell, Sir Keir told broadcasters: “He’s doing an excellent job.
“You heard what Steve Witkoff said about him today in relation to the role he’s played behind the scenes [in Gaza]. So of course, I’ve got full confidence in him.”
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China spy trial and the British deep state
Mr Witkoff, the US’s Middle East envoy, this morning lauded “the incredible input and tireless efforts” of Mr Powell in helping to bring about a ceasefire. Sir Keir was speaking from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, where world leaders have gathered for the Gaza peace summit.
The dropped trial has sparked a political row, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accusing the government of deliberately collapsing the case in order to avoid angering China and losing investment into the UK – something ministers have strenuously denied.
Security minister Dan Jarvis accused her of spreading “baseless smears” in a statement setting out the government’s position in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, as MPs returned to parliament following the party conference recess.
Mr Cash, of Whitechapel, east London, and Mr Berry, of Witney, Oxfordshire, were charged in April 2024 with passing politically sensitive information to a Chinese intelligence agent between December 2021 and February 2023.
Blame game continues
Mr Jarvis told MPs the prosecution was “based on the law at the time of the [alleged] offence and the policy position of the Conservative government at the time of the [alleged] offence”.
He said “every effort” was made by the Labour government to provide evidence to proceed with the case on that basis, but the CPS was “hamstrung” by the Tories’ failure to update the Official Secrets Act.
This was the legislation under which the charges were brought, which specifies it is a crime to communicate any documents which might be useful to “an enemy” – language Mr Jarvis said was “archaic in the modern threat landscape”.
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The Tories defined China only as a “systemic challenge to UK security” in 2021, and then as an “epoch-defining challenge” in 2023.
Mr Jarvis said ministers “cannot retrospectively” change that, adding: “The current government’s policy position was immaterial to the assessment that was made by the CPS.
“The CPS decision to drop the case was not influenced by any member of this government, nor special adviser or senior official.”
China ‘poses series of threats’
Ms Badenoch doubled down on her accusations in response, saying the collapsed trial “wasn’t a mistake”.
“This looks like a deliberate decision to collapse the case and curry favour with the regime in China.”
On Labour’s position on China, Mr Jarvis said: “We fully recognise that China poses a series of threats to UK national security, yet we must also be alive to the fact that China does present us with opportunities.”
He said that requires a “pragmatic approach to economic engagement without compromising on our national security”.
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The blame game over China spy trial collapse
MI5 issues new guidance to MPs
Another issue the row has raised is the safety of MPs – with Commons speaker Lindsey Hoyle opening Monday’s debate saying he is “angry and disappointed” that politicians are not being adequately protected from foreign interference.
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MI5 has now issued new guidance to MPs, peers, councillors, candidates and parliamentary staff, warning them: “You are a potential target.”
As well as urging vigilance at home, the advice warns that foreign intelligence services could seek to exploit politicians’ overseas travel to access their data or use financial donations as a route to influence.
The guidance specifically accused Russia, China and Iran of carrying out “long-term strategic foreign interference and espionage” but said “other states” could also seek to obtain information about “the UK system”.
Mr Jarvis said the guidance would “kickstart a wider cross-government action plan.. to reduce foreign interference and espionage threats to UK democratic institutions”.
