Starmer says the government will publish witness statements in collapsed China spy case

Summary

Keir Starmer says the government will publish witness statements related to the case of two people accused of spying for China
Starmer's government was under pressure to publish evidence it submitted in the case - here's the row explained
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says "it all stinks of a cover up", and claims the case collapsed because the government was "too weak to stand up to China"
Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry were charged in April 2024 under the Official Secrets Act, but charges were dropped last month. Both men say they are innocent
Last week, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service said the case collapsed because evidence could not be obtained from the government referring to China as a national security threat
Starmer insists "no minister was involved, no special adviser was involved in this" - and that deputy national security adviser, Matthew Collins, provided a "substantive witness statement in 2023 which was subsequently supplemented by two further short statements"
The Conservatives now want the minutes published from a meeting attended by national security adviser Jonathan Powell, writes our political editor Chris Mason

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Watch: China spy row dominates PMQs

Live Reporting

Edited by Emily Atkinson and Nathan Williams, with Joshua Nevett reporting from the House of Commons

Government under pressure to release China spy case evidencepublished at 10:04 BST 15 October

Image source, AFP/Getty Images
Image caption,
Christopher Cash (left) and Christopher Berry (right) were both accused of spying for China
One topic likely to come up today is the now-collapsed case against two people accused of spying for China.
Prosecutors unexpectedly dropped the case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry last month, prompting criticism from ministers and MPs. Both men deny the allegations.
The director of public prosecutions said the case collapsed because evidence could not be obtained from the government referring to China as a national security threat.
The Tories and Lib Dems are demanding the government publish the evidence it submitted in the case.
It follows another public intervention from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which has made clear it would not stand in the way if ministers chose to put their evidence in the public domain.
This row relates to the three witness statements submitted by Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Collins, on whether China had been regarded as a threat at the time of the alleged offences under the previous Conservative government.
Read more about how pressure is growing on the government here.
Pledges on education, housing and immigration during conference seasonpublished at 10:02 BST 15 October

Recent weeks have seen the major political parties gathering in venues across the UK to establish their own visions, policies and pledges.
Here's a reminder of some of what we heard:
- Keir Starmer set out a new Labour policy scrapping a commitment to get 50% of England's young people into university - focusing instead on a goal of two-thirds of young people going to university or taking "gold standard apprenticeships"
- Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch said the party would abolish stamp duty on primary homes if they came into power
- Speaking for the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey said the party wants to cut energy bills in half by 2035 as well as forge closer ties with the EU
- Reform's Nigel Farage pledged "serious" cuts to the benefits bill and made the claim that he could "stop the boats within two weeks"
- The Green Party passed a motion committing to phasing out private landlords from the housing system - while boosting housebuilding by councils
PMQs returns after conference season - with China spy row in the headlinespublished at 10:01 BST 15 October

Today marks the first Prime Minister's Questions since the party conference season.
In recent weeks, the major political parties have been setting out their plans for the future as they gathered for their annual conferences.
This afternoon, the spotlight is back on the House of Commons and the quizzing of the PM on the government's policies and actions.
After a busy few weeks, there's a lot that party leaders might ask, including:
- Pressure on the government over a now-collapsed case against two people accused of spying for China
- The "difficult decisions" Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she will need to make in the upcoming autumn budget
- From the world stage - the Gaza ceasefire plan which came into effect last week
We'll follow today's session closely with the help of our political correspondents - but first let's take a more detailed look at some of these topics.