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Joshua NevettPolitical reporter
A key witness in the China spying case removed the term "enemy" from the final draft of a witness statement submitted to prosecutors, because it did not reflect government policy at the time.
In a letter to MPs, deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins said the word "enemy" was included in the draft witness statement written when the Conservatives were in power.
But he said he told police investigating the case he could not call China an "enemy" as this did not reflect government policy".
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been accused by the Conservatives of allowing the case to collapse earlier this year by not describing China as a threat to national security.
Charges against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry - who deny the allegations - were dropped in September.
The Labour government, the Conservatives and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are facing questions over the collapse of the case and who was to blame.
Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions (DPP) said the case fell apart because evidence could not be obtained from the government referring to China as a national security threat.
The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, which is made up of senior MPs and peers, launched an inquiry last week.
Among those giving evidence at a next week will be Collins, who provided prosecutors with three witness statements - two written while the Conservatives were in power and one under Labour.
The three statements were published by the government last week.
Collins - the deputy director of national security (DNSA) - has now submitted evidence in a letter to the committee before appearing in front of MPs.
Cash and Berry were charged under the Official Secrets Act 1911.
Under the legislation, anyone accused of spying can only be prosecuted if the information they passed on was useful to an enemy.
In his letter, Collins said Counter Terrorism Police (CTP) requested that he act as a witness in the case in August 2023, including to support the "enemy" description needed to mount a prosecution under the 1911 Act.
Collins said his legal counsel worked with junior officials to prepare "a draft text which could form the basis of a witness statement".
He said he reviewed the "draft wording and amended the statement to ensure factual accuracy and that it was in line with current government policy".
In his letter, Collins wrote: "These amendments reflected the DNSA's assessment of the evidence provided by operational partners based on his professional experience in advising the prime minister on national security threats, and to accurately represent the government's view of the range of national security threats posed by China.
"Drafts of a statement provided to DNSA included the term 'enemy' but he removed this term from the final draft as it did not reflect government policy."
Labour's Attorney General Lord Hermer has also submitted evidence to the same committee.
In it, he revealed he was informed on 3 September that prosecutors were dropping the case - but was told not to alert other ministers, including the prime minister.
Lord Hermer said he received routine updates from the CPS in August indicating the trial was expected to proceed.
But during a meeting on 3 September, DPP Parkinson confirmed the decision to drop the case.
Lord Hermer said at the DPP's request, he kept the information confidential until police and defendants were informed.
The attorney general said "there is nothing unusual" in the law officers "being requested to keep information about individual prosecution decisions confidential even from senior colleagues".
