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The UK government faces scrutiny after prosecutors dropped charges against two men accused of spying for China weeks before trial. CPS chief Stephen Parkinson said the case failed because officials could not supply evidence that China was labelled a national security threat at the time—an approach driven by a precedent from an earlier spying case—though some lawyers dispute this. Downing Street says the CPS alone made the call. PM Keir Starmer blamed the former Conservative government’s stance; Tory leader Kemi Badenoch rejected that and accused ministers of deliberately collapsing the trial to court Beijing, a claim the government denies.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.