2 hours ago
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Nick Eardley and Tabby Wilson
PA Media
Speaker of the Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
The Speaker of the Commons has said that the decision to drop the charges against two men accused of spying for China could leave parliament vulnerable to espionage.
Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash were charged under the Official Secrets act, after they were accused of gathering and providing information prejudicial to the safety and interests of the state between 28 December 2021 and 3 February 2023.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle told the Times that he took the security of the house "incredibly seriously" and was considering launching a private action against the pair.
Mr Berry and Mr Cash have previously denied the charges, and Beijing has called the allegations "malicious slander".
The CPS announced the charges against the former parliamentary researcher and teacher would be dropped early last week, as the "evidential threshold" had not been reached.
Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions who leads the CPS, said his team had considered "alternative offences" but concluded "none were suitable".
In a letter to shadow home secretary Chris Philp, Mr Parkinson gave assurances that there had been "no outside pressure" in regards to the decision.
The pair were originally due to appear at Woolwich Crown Court from 6 October.
Speaking outside the Old Bailey following the decision to cease legal proceedings on Monday, Mr Cash said he was "relieved that justice has been served".
Mr Berry, a teacher from Witney in Oxfordshire, and Mr Cash, of Whitechapel in London, were arrested in March 2023 as part of an investigation that involved counter-terror police.
They were accused of collecting pieces of information which were "calculated to be, might be, or were intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy".
They were charged under the Official Secrets Act a year later in April 2024.
Mr Cash was understood to have had access to several Conservative MPs, reportedly including former security minister Tom Tugendhat and then-foreign affairs committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns.
At the time of the charges, a Chinese embassy spokesperson said "the claim that China is suspected of 'stealing British intelligence' is completely fabricated".
They urged the UK "to stop anti-China political manipulation and stop putting on such a self-staged political farce".
