LONDON — British prosecutors on Monday said two men who had been accused of spying for China, including a former parliamentary researcher, will not face trial after the Crown Prosecution Service determined the evidential standard for the case is no longer met.
Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 33, had been charged with offences under the Official Secrets Act over allegations that they provided information or documents "which might be or were intended to be useful to an enemy" and that were "prejudicial to the safety or interests" of the United Kingdom between late 2021 and February 2023.
Cash, a former parliamentary researcher who worked with senior lawmakers focused on security and foreign affairs from the Conservative Party, and Berry, described in court documents as an academic based in Oxfordshire who had taught in China since 2015, had denied the allegations. Prosecutors said the pair were alleged to have been in contact with each other and with a person suspected of being a Chinese intelligence agent.
The men had been due to stand trial next month at London's Central Criminal Court. In a statement, the Crown Prosecution Service said the evidence in the 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." The CPS added: "No further evidence will be offered."
The announcement ends criminal proceedings that followed an investigation by national security and policing authorities. Details released by prosecutors did not specify which pieces of evidence prompted the decision to discontinue the prosecution, nor did they outline whether any alternative investigative or administrative measures would follow.
Both defendants had previously entered not-guilty pleas and denied violating the Official Secrets Act. Court records show the charges stemmed from alleged contacts and exchanges of information during the stated period, but prosecutors did not elaborate on the precise nature of the material at issue when they confirmed the discontinuance of the case.
The decision to drop the case will be handed to the court at a procedural hearing. Defence lawyers for Cash and Berry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Crown Prosecution Service, which reviews evidence provided by police and national security agencies before charging decisions and trials, said its assessment of the sufficiency of evidence had changed after ongoing review.
The matter had drawn public attention because one of the defendants was a parliamentary researcher with access to senior lawmakers and because the allegations involved suspected contacts with a foreign intelligence officer. Prosecutors and police have emphasised in past national-security-related cases that decisions to charge or discontinue cases are shaped by evidentiary thresholds and the protection of sensitive material, although the CPS statement in this case focused solely on the change in evidential assessment.
The discontinuance brings to an end the immediate prospect of a public criminal trial on the allegations, while leaving unanswered questions about the underlying investigation that led to the original charges.