Overview

• Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry saw Official Secrets Act charges dropped when prosecutors told the Old Bailey the evidential standard was no longer met and offered no further evidence.
• Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson, citing counsel Tom Little KC, said no outside pressure influenced the decision and that the case had been kept under continuous review.
• Sir Lindsay Hoyle has written to the home secretary warning of vulnerability to foreign actors and is considering a private prosecution following the collapse.
• CPS correspondence to MP Alicia Kearns acknowledged that the China Research Group was targeted by China to obtain information from within parliament.
• Ministers called the outcome extremely disappointing as MPs seek explanations, with officials noting the newer National Security Act removes the old law’s restrictive ‘enemy’ wording.