Former British chancellor George Osborne warned on Friday that the collapse of a Chinese spying court case could threaten Prime Minister Keir Starmer's hold on power.
Mr Osborne was chancellor between 2010 and 2016, when he oversaw the country's “golden era” strategy for relations between London and Beijing.
Now he has warned that Mr Starmer's defence of his government's handling of a prosecution request for authoritative testimony remained shaky almost two weeks after the collapse of the legal proceedings.
In particular, the government has stressed that it did not hold meetings with the responsible officials about how to handle criminal charges over two alleged Chinese agents who had worked for MPs.
The case was seen as sensitive as the Labour government attempts to solidify ties with China, while maintaining close links to Washington during their deepening economic rivalry.
A new revelation that meetings did take place would deal a major blow to Mr Starmer, who has told parliament his team played no such role.
“That would be major, but it's hard to believe he would say that to Parliament, that no minister or politically-appointed special adviser was involved, because if it turns out that they were in any way, that is big trouble,” Mr Osborne said on his Political Currency podcast.
The former chancellor presents the show with Labour grandee and husband of the Foreign Secretary, Ed Balls. Mr Balls also sees Mr Starmer's handling of the controversy as filled with potential danger ahead.
“As an example of handling a crisis, this is not a good case study of the way to do it, because they have allowed themselves to always look behind the curve, and therefore they've created the impression that there was something to hide,” he said.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the case against Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry in September, a month before a trial was due to take place.
Both men, who deny wrongdoing, had been accused of passing secrets to Beijing.
China has condemned the content of the government's submission despite the CPS view that there was no definitive declaration it was an enemy.
“We urge the UK to stop making an issue out of China, stop engaging in anti-China hype, and stop undermining China–UK relations,” a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London said in a statement published on its website.
New embassy
The UK was rebuked by Beijing on Friday over a postponed decision on approving China’s new embassy in the building that once housed the Royal Mint. The effort to rebuild the central London institution as China's outpost has been plagued by objections, mainly from Conservatives who see the redevelopment as strategic folly for the UK.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China had shown “utmost sincerity and patience” over the decision. He added the UK lacked “the spirit of contract, credibility and ethics” while “complicating and politicising the matter”.
“That goes entirely against the UK’s commitments and previous remarks about improving China-UK relations,” he said.
“We once again call on the UK to fulfil its obligation and honour its commitments at once, otherwise the consequences arising therefrom shall be borne by the UK side.”
Enemy status
The prosecution case relied on China's profile as an enemy of the UK. The charges were brought under an early 20th century act outlawing spying. Reports have identified Cai Qi, the senior Chinese official who is thought to be the recipient of information in the alleged espionage.
Downing St has pushed back against opposition leader Kemi Badenoch’s claim that Mr Starmer should have intervened to stop the spy trial collapsing as “absurd”.
The chairs of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, Home Affairs, Justice and Foreign Affairs committees have heaped pressure on Mr Starmer's government to reveal more of the internal process that surrounded the court case.
The questions include whether evidence was sought from other sources, such as intelligence material or ministers who might have described China as a threat, and what steps he took to inform the government that the case would collapse without further evidence.
The committee chairs also asked whether deputy national security adviser Matt Collins, whose witness statements prosecutors have blamed for the abandonment of the case, was made fully aware of the evidential threshold.
Two parliamentary inquiries will examine his testimony, which was made public this week, as well as query why he was not briefed on the evidentiary threshold before the CPS dropped the case.
Ken McCallum, director general of the UK's MI5 security agency, issued what was seen as a rebuke for the government on Thursday.
He signalled frustration with the collapse of the case. “Of course I am frustrated when opportunities to prosecute national security-threatening activity are not followed through, for whatever reason.”
