 "China-UK spying row deepens as two MPs urge Starmer to block Beijing’s mega embassy in London")
Two senior Conservative MPs who allege they were targeted by two Chinese spies have requested Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to block Beijing’s plans for a “mega” embassy in London and “protect” the UK’s national security.
According to a Financial Times report, Alicia Kearns and Tom Tugendhat have called on Starmer to move China into the “enhanced tier” of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme and to impose sanctions on the Chinese officials allegedly involved in espionage activity within Parliament.
The prime minister is facing mounting pressure to explain why the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped espionage charges last month against Christopher Cash, a parliamentary researcher and director of the China Research Group, and Christopher Berry, who had worked in China.
Both men denied any wrongdoing and have since been formally acquitted.
According to the report, the CPS said it was forced to abandon the case after the government declined to submit evidence demonstrating that China posed a threat to UK national security.
Starmer has expressed frustration over the collapse of the prosecution and denied that his government interfered.
However, critics have accused his administration of prioritising trade relations with China over national security concerns, added the report.
“Failing to prosecute two men charged with spying for China demonstrates worrying levels of complacency,” Financial Times quoted Kearns and Tugendhat as saying in their letter to Starmer on Sunday.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“You’ve repeatedly stated your disappointment that this prosecution did not proceed. You now have the opportunity to do what’s necessary to protect this country,” they added.
The call from Kearns and Tugendhat, shadow national security minister and a former security minister respectively, comes at a tense moment in UK-China relations. While the government seeks Chinese investment to boost the economy, it also faces growing criticism for appearing soft on Beijing.
The ministers last week postponed a decision on China’s application to build what would be Europe’s largest embassy, just outside the City of London.
The proposals have sparked fears that the new embassy could be a surveillance threat, with Beijing redacting part of the plans for the site.
China later warned of “consequences” for the UK for again delaying the decision on the embassy’s planning application, which had been expected this week but will now not come until December 10, reported Financial Times.
The embassy project has become a diplomatic flashpoint, complicating Starmer’s efforts to reset relations with China after a more hawkish stance under Conservative leadership.
Despite insisting that national security remains the top priority, the government has been criticised for keeping China out of the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), which currently only includes Russia and Iran.
Critics say this softer approach undercuts efforts to hold Beijing accountable — particularly after the collapse of espionage charges against two men accused of spying for China in Parliament, added the report.
Cash and Berry were charged in 2024 with spying on UK lawmakers. Cash had worked closely with both Kearns and Tugendhat. Last week, the government released CPS witness statements alleging Berry had met Cai Qi, a top ally of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Kearns and Tugendhat told Starmer that given the UK security services had “identified the Chinese officials responsible for targeting us . . . you must draw a clear red line and sanction them”.
“We know that you care about our national security. We ask that you back up your words with action,” they added.
With inputs from agencies
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