National security adviser Jonathan Powell has been urged to answer questions on the collapse of a Chinese spy case in public, with the government doubling down on its defence that it did not subvert the trial to maintain diplomatic ties with Beijing.
Powell is set to appear before a private committee in parliament to answer questions on whether he intervened on the case by blocking a senior civil servant from providing evidence during a trial of Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, who both deny allegations they spied for China.
But former security minister Tom Tugendhat, who publicly told parliament that China’s activities posted a “serious threat to the security and wellbeing” of Brits, told City AM it was “very odd” that Powell was not appearing before MPs openly.
Tugendhat also questioned Keir Starmer’s choice to make Powell his national security adviser, the first time the position has been a political appointee following Powell’s previous role as Tony Blair’s chief of staff.
“I think it’s personally very odd that the national security adviser is not appearing openly before a committee, and I think it’s very odd that the national security adviser is a special adviser,” Tugendhat said.
The collapse of the spy case has raised eyebrows among several former prosecutors and security chiefs after the director of public prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, said the Crown Prosecution Service had tried “over many months” to obtain evidence from the government that China posed a national security threat to the UK in order to proceed with the case.
Lawyers and ex-intelligence officials have criticised the Labour government’s reasoning that the previous Conservative government had not clarified the definition of “enemy” in the Official Secrets Act as it has been suggested a prosecution could have been sought without this claim.
Reports have separately said Powell and Treasury officials intervened on the case to allow for trade relations with China to be maintained.
Tugendhat, who once worked with Berry when he chaired the hawkish China Research Group, also argued that it was “simply not credible” that Keir Starmer was not responsible for the collapse of a “major national security trial” given he oversaw the civil service and was the First Lord of the Treasury.
“The idea that he’s not in some way responsible would be, frankly, bizarre.”
Tugendhat added it was “complete fiction” that China had to be designated an “enemy” for the case to go ahead as he pointed out such labels would only be made in times of war.
Downing Street defends Powell
Number 10 emphasised on Monday that any suggestions the government deliberately collapsed the spying case were “entirely false” and that it was “simply untrue” that Powell stopped the government from providing evidence on the case.
Ministers have meanwhile insisted that neither members of the government nor Powell had any involvement in the “substance or evidence” of the case while expressing disappointment that the case had collapsed.
However, Number 10 admitted that Powell would “take part in discussions on matters of national security that can affect bilateral relationships”.
The government spokesman also said China posed “threats” to the UK but that its status in the eyes of the UK could not be “reduced to a single word”.
The details of Powell’s appearance before a joint committee on the national security strategy may not come to public attention but it will represent the first time he answers questions on the matter.