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At the Old Bailey on Friday, two men pleaded not guilty to charges of spying for China. Christopher Berry, 32, and Christopher Cash, a 29-year-old former parliamentary researcher, were charged under the Official Secrets Act. The men are accused of obtaining, collecting, recording, publishing or communicating articles, notes, documents or information which were calculated to be, might be, or were intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy.
Mr Cash, from Whitechapel, east London, allegedly had access to Conservative leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat and the former foreign affairs committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns, among others. Beijing has called the allegations “malicious slander”. The alleged spying took place between 28 December 2021 and 3 February 2023.
The case will now proceed to a further case management hearing which is scheduled for early next year. A trial is expected to take place at Woolwich Crown Court, and the provisional date for the trial is 6 October next year.
If found guilty, the two men could face life imprisonment. The Official Secrets Act is a UK law that makes it illegal for an individual to disclose information that is classified as confidential to anyone who is not authorised to have it. It applies to information relating to national security, defence, and international relations.
This case highlights the ongoing concerns around espionage for foreign powers. The UK is not alone in facing these challenges, as many countries are also grappling with how to protect themselves from foreign interference and spy activities
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