Christopher Berry, one of the suspects in the Chinese espionage case, was carrying a “suitcase full of cash” when he was stopped by police under terrorism laws after flying into Heathrow from China on Feb 2, 2023. He was discovered with £4,000 when he was intercepted at the airport.
The money is believed to have been given to him by his Chinese intelligence handler, known only as “Alex”. It is unclear whether the cash was retained by police, or what currency it was in.
Berry was the subject of a port stop under Schedule 3 Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, which is used by police when there is suspicion of “hostile activity” involving a foreign state.
His phone and laptop were taken by officers and later revealed his connection to Chris Cash, a parliamentary researcher from Edinburgh, who was also accused of spying for China, as well as a person assessed to be a Chinese intelligent agent.
Prosecutors alleged the Chinese agent commissioned at least 34 reports from Berry on subjects of political interest, ten of which were deemed prejudicial to national security. British prosecutors suspected that Cai Qi, a confidant of 
Xi Jinping and China’s fifth most senior official, was in receipt of intelligence from Westminster as part of the espionage case.
On Oct 18, the Metropolitan Police said: “A man in his thirties was subject to a stop at Heathrow airport on 2 February 2023 under Schedule 3 of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. He was not arrested and inquiries continued.”
The evidence was due to be presented by the prosecution in the trial against the two men which collapsed last month, leading to outrage from ministers, MPs and the police.
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Sir Keir Starmer was announcing a shake-up of Downing Street after a challenging first year in office when invitations popped up on computer screens across Whitehall.
Up to 20 senior mandarins and spy chiefs were summoned to a meeting in the Cabinet Office chaired by Jonathan Powell, the prime minister’s national security adviser, on Sep 1. The agenda? To discuss the looming trial of two alleged Chinese spies operating in Westminster.
Two weeks later, the prosecution would collapse, prompting a furious row between MPs, the prime minister and the director of public prosecutions (DPP).
The meeting had been instigated at the request of Sir Oliver Robbins, the permanent undersecretary of the Foreign Office. Those present included Sir Chris Wormald, the cabinet secretary; Dame Antonia Romeo, permanent secretary of the Home Office; Sir Ken McCallum, head of MI5; Doug Wilson, director-general of the attorney-general’s office; and a phalanx of senior officials from the Foreign Office including the China desk head, Dan Chugg.
Seated at the table next to them was Powell’s deputy, Matthew Collins, the government’s sole witness for the prosecution. His failure to state in his evidence that China was an “ongoing” threat to national security, despite widespread evidence to the contrary, has been cited by the DPP as a reason for the trial’s collapse.
Collins, whose latest statement included words taken directly from Labour’s manifesto committing it to a “positive relationship” with China, is understood to have acknowledged privately that the decision not to provide the evidence requested by the CPS had been “political”, which contradicts claims made in the Commons by Starmer and ministers last week.
“He [Collins] isn’t politically connected. There is no way that he would have made those statements, including the passages from the Labour manifesto, without ministerial direction.”
The general theme of the “unusual” meeting was “how the UK’s relationship with China was going to be damaged by this case”, which caused “some nervousness” amongst attendees because the trial was due to begin a month later. To allay concerns, it was disclosed that Collins would base his evidence on the government’s recently published
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thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar
Xi Jinping and China’s fifth most senior official, was in receipt of intelligence from Westminster as part of the espionage case.
On Oct 18, the Metropolitan Police said: “A man in his thirties was subject to a stop at Heathrow airport on 2 February 2023 under Schedule 3 of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. He was not arrested and inquiries continued.”
The evidence was due to be presented by the prosecution in the trial against the two men which collapsed last month, leading to outrage from ministers, MPs and the police.
=====
Sir Keir Starmer was announcing a shake-up of Downing Street after a challenging first year in office when invitations popped up on computer screens across Whitehall.
Up to 20 senior mandarins and spy chiefs were summoned to a meeting in the Cabinet Office chaired by Jonathan Powell, the prime minister’s national security adviser, on Sep 1. The agenda? To discuss the looming trial of two alleged Chinese spies operating in Westminster.
Two weeks later, the prosecution would collapse, prompting a furious row between MPs, the prime minister and the director of public prosecutions (DPP).
The meeting had been instigated at the request of Sir Oliver Robbins, the permanent undersecretary of the Foreign Office. Those present included Sir Chris Wormald, the cabinet secretary; Dame Antonia Romeo, permanent secretary of the Home Office; Sir Ken McCallum, head of MI5; Doug Wilson, director-general of the attorney-general’s office; and a phalanx of senior officials from the Foreign Office including the China desk head, Dan Chugg.
Seated at the table next to them was Powell’s deputy, Matthew Collins, the government’s sole witness for the prosecution. His failure to state in his evidence that China was an “ongoing” threat to national security, despite widespread evidence to the contrary, has been cited by the DPP as a reason for the trial’s collapse.
Collins, whose latest statement included words taken directly from Labour’s manifesto committing it to a “positive relationship” with China, is understood to have acknowledged privately that the decision not to provide the evidence requested by the CPS had been “political”, which contradicts claims made in the Commons by Starmer and ministers last week.
“He [Collins] isn’t politically connected. There is no way that he would have made those statements, including the passages from the Labour manifesto, without ministerial direction.”
The general theme of the “unusual” meeting was “how the UK’s relationship with China was going to be damaged by this case”, which caused “some nervousness” amongst attendees because the trial was due to begin a month later. To allay concerns, it was disclosed that Collins would base his evidence on the government’s recently published
1/n
thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar
Quote
Byron Wan
@Byron_Wan
Three witness statements by 
deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins were published by Downing Street on Oct 15 as the government faced questions from ministers and MPs, after charges were unexpectedly dropped against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry last month. x.com/byron_wan/stat…
Show more deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins were published by Downing Street on Oct 15 as the government faced questions from ministers and MPs, after charges were unexpectedly dropped against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry last month. x.com/byron_wan/stat…