US politicians have expressed concern that they may have been compromised in Labour’s “deeply troubling” China espionage case, demanding clarification from the British Government. In a letter sent to the UK embassy in Washington, Republican members of Congress asked whether any sensitive material shared with British MPs had been passed to the Chinese Communist Party. The letter warned that Britain risked setting a “dangerous precedent” after charges were dropped against two men accused of spying for Beijing, accusing Sir Keir Starmer’s Government of allowing Chinese interference to “go unchecked”. The House of Representatives’ Select Committee on China said it was “deeply troubled” by the UK’s apparent reluctance to pursue justice for MPs who may have been targeted.
The committee urged the Government to confirm whether any information related to its members or their work had been leaked to Beijing. Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, who were accused of passing classified material from Parliament to Chinese agents, saw their case collapse last month after the Crown Prosecution Service concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove China posed a national security threat at the time of the alleged offences. Both men have denied wrongdoing. Sir Keir has faced mounting criticism over the handling of the case, with some opponents claiming a “cover-up”. John Bolton, former US national security adviser under Donald Trump, said Labour’s response risked “encouraging further Beijing spy campaigns”, while Mike Pompeo, the former CIA director, claimed the case showed the Chinese Communist Party “will do everything they can to weaken the West”.
John Moolenaar, chairman of the House China committee, wrote to James Roscoe, the interim head of the British embassy in Washington, warning that allowing the suspects to walk free sent a message to Beijing that it could target Western politicians “with impunity”. He said dropping the charges could embolden China to continue its activities against Western democracies. The Telegraph revealed that the prosecution fell apart partly because the Government refused to disclose key evidence that might have supported a conviction under the Official Secrets Act 1911. Sir Keir has blamed the collapse on the previous Conservative government’s failure to formally identify China as an “enemy state” — a designation required under the act. However, several former officials and intelligence figures insist there was ample justification for doing so at the time.
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The controversy has embarrassed the Labour Government, amid accusations it is prioritising economic ties with China over national security. The dispute coincides with sensitive trade talks and a pending decision on whether to permit a new Chinese “super embassy” in central London — a verdict now delayed until 10 December. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, has argued that cutting economic engagement with Beijing would be “very foolish”, while Business Secretary Peter Kyle recently met his Chinese counterpart in Beijing for the first high-level trade discussions in seven years. US officials, however, remain wary. Miles Yu, director of the China Centre at the Hudson Institute, warned that the UK’s decision to drop the case “damages trust” in intelligence cooperation with Washington, while a senior US official said America would exercise “extreme caution” in sharing information with any ally “subject to adversarial coercion or influence”.
