1 of 2 | Christopher Berry arrived at the Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, in London, in May 2024. He and Christpher Cash were charged with spying for China, but their charges have been dropped. File Photo by Andy Rain/EPA
Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A British spying case against two men collapsed just before going to trial for lack of evidence because the United Kingdom hadn't labeled China as an "enemy," the country's top prosecutor said.
Stephen Parkinson, U.K. director of public prosecutions, said that while there was evidence to prosecute at the time charges were filed, there was a precedent set by another spying case earlier this year that changed the rules of evidence under the Official Secrets Act.
He said that China would have to be labeled a "threat to national security" at the time of the crimes. During that time, the government labeled China an "epoch-defining challenge."
Christopher Berry, 33, of Oxfordshire, and Christopher Cash, 30, of Whitechapel and London, were charged with official secrets act offenses in April 2024. Cash is a former parliamentary researcher and Berry is a teacher.
