Acquitted China Spy Says He Was a Fall Guy for UK Security Services

Messages and the case

Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, gave the BBC more than 6,000 messages between himself and Chris Berry, a friend he met while teaching English in China in 2018. The exchanges include discussion of sensitive UK political issues and the 2022 Conservative leadership contest.

Berry’s meeting in China

The messages include Berry’s account of a summer 2022 meeting with a senior Chinese official. Berry said the official asked about the situation in the UK, including the Tory leadership contest, after colleagues had told him the official was interested in reports Berry had written about UK policy towards China.

Berry told Cash he had been taken to a government-owned villa. Cash replied that Berry had been “elite captured” and was in “spy territory”; he says those comments were jokes and that he trusted his friend. Cash says he did not believe Berry was knowingly spying on the UK through him.

Cash’s account and response

In his first interview since his acquittal, Cash said he would “never do anything” to harm UK national security. He also acknowledged being “unprofessional and naive” to send what he described as gossiping texts to Berry.

Cash believes the case was pursued as a warning to others, amid previous government statements that Chinese spies were targeting UK officials in political, defence and business sectors. Berry declined to comment on the BBC’s story; after his acquittal, he denied wrongdoing and said he had faced a trial by media. He said his reports for a Chinese company relied on public sources and contained no classified information.

Political and personal background

Cash returned to the UK in 2019 and later directed a small policy group run by China-sceptic Conservative MPs in Westminster. Berry remained in China, writing reports for a large consultancy described as having links to the government, as do many Chinese companies.

Cash’s acquittal prompted a political row over the government’s failure to designate China as a “threat” and accusations of political interference to appease Beijing. China has called the spying allegations “pure fabrication and malicious slander”.