UK government undermined China spying probe to protect Beijing ties, say officials

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government fatally undermined an investigation into Chinese spying against politicians in Westminster to protect the UK's commercial and diplomatic relations with Beijing, according to senior UK officials, despite concern that a hostile state had infiltrated the heart of British democracy, Report infiorms via Financial Times.

Senior UK officials told the FT that last month's decision by prosecutors to drop the so-called China spying case came after a huge dispute that pitted Starmer's international security advisers and the Foreign Office against the Home Office, with the latter wanting to press ahead with the case.

Senior government figures believe the dispute originated over a desire among the security advisers and Foreign Office not to upset China, with the UK seeking to improve ties with its third-largest trading partner. The prosecution fell apart after security officials said they would not provide testimony that China could be defined as an "enemy", an important element for a prosecution under the Official Secrets Act, which the alleged spies had been charged with breaching.

This was despite UK prosecutors - backed by testimony from one of the same UK security officials - arguing earlier this year in a hostile state spying case that an enemy included "any country which presents a threat to our national security". The National Security Strategy, published in June, warned that China had increased "espionage" and "interference in our democracy and the undermining of our economic security" in recent years.

However, it also cautioned that the UK wanted to increase trade. The document - overseen by the national security adviser Jonathan Powell and informed by the government's unpublished "China audit" - also warned that the UK needed to "reduce the risks of misunderstanding and poor communication" which had characterised its relations with Beijing in recent years.