MI5 chief 'frustrated' as China spy case collapses

LONDON

The head of MI5, Ken McCallum, expressed frustration Thursday at the failure to put two Brits on trial for allegedly spying for China, in comments seen as a rebuke to prosecutors.

“Of course, I am frustrated when opportunities to prosecute national security threatening activity are not followed through for whatever reason,” McCallum said at the security service's annual meeting. “Clearly, when we believe there has been activity threatening UK, national security convictions are great … But I would invite everyone to just not miss the fact this was a strong disruption in the interests in UK national security.”

Christopher Cash, a parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, a teacher and researcher in China, were accused of passing information from parliament to Chinese agents.

The men denied the charges. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the case last month, citing a lack of evidence following a change in case law.

The CPS said the case collapsed because a government witness failed to give evidence describing China as a current threat to national security, as required under the 1911 Official Secrets Act.

McCallum, however, emphasized the ongoing threat from Chinese state actors. “Do Chinese state actors present a UK national security threat? And the answer is, of course, yes, they do every day.”

He highlighted other security challenges facing the UK, including terrorism and espionage from Iran and Russia.

He said the MI5 had disrupted 19 late-stage terror plots since 2020, while the agency is seeing a rise in minors involved in terrorism, with one in five of last year’s 232 terrorism arrests being those under 17.

On China-related espionage, McCallum said a recent plot had been disrupted, though it did not involve parliament. “I am MI5 born and bred. I will never back off from confronting threats to the UK, wherever they come from,” he said.

The MI5 chief described the current global environment as “more hostile,” forcing “the biggest shifts in MI5’s mission since 9/11.”