The collapse of a case involving two men accused of spying for China is a “mess” which is “damaging” to Sir Keir Starmer, a former head of MI6 has said.

Sir Richard Dearlove, who led MI6 between 1999 and 2004, told The i Paper that China was indisputably a national security threat and that he could not understand why the case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry was dropped .

He said that if the Government had “caved” to Chinese pressure then it was “absolutely outrageous”. New Feature

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Cash, a parliamentary researcher from London, and Berry, a teacher in Oxfordshire, were arrested in March 2023. They were accused of gathering and providing information prejudicial to the safety and interests of the state between December 2

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