Overview

• Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said there was no ministerial interference and said she was very disappointed the case did not proceed, describing China as a challenge.
• Multiple outlets reported that ministers withdrew a senior civil servant who was expected to testify that China was an enemy, a claim rejected by the Cabinet Office as inaccurate.
• Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, has said the case failed on evidential grounds and called the Official Secrets Act’s enemy test a limitation.
• The CPS stressed its decision was independent, while opposition figures including Alicia Kearns, Priti Patel and Chris Philp demanded transparency about any government role.
• Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry deny wrongdoing after being accused of passing politically sensitive reports to a senior Chinese Communist Party figure, as the Commons Speaker warned of risks to parliamentary security.