UK releases Collins statements as China spying case collapses

The government has published witness statements from deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins after prosecutors dropped a high-profile trial last month alleging two men spied for China, a decision that has prompted fresh questions about the handling of national security evidence and competing claims about the scale of Chinese infiltration. Downing Street said Prime Minister Keir Starmer has not seen an independent witness statement submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service and defended Mr Collins, while a former senior adviser to a previous prime minister has accused officials of covering up a separate, serious data breach that the Cabinet Office rejects.

Mr Collins provided three statements to the Crown Prosecution Service during its consideration of the case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, who deny the allegations. The CPS concluded the evidence did not meet the legal threshold to show China presented a threat to UK national security at the time of the alleged offences, and prosecutors discontinued the prosecution. Downing Street said the statements were compiled under the previous government and described them as independent records not shared with...