SIR KEIR STARMER pledged to publish government evidence in the case of a collapsed prosecution of alleged spies as the Commons descended into an orgy of China-bashing today.

The Prime Minister made the move as Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said his handling of the issue “stinks of a cover-up.”

Sir Keir claimed that it was all the last Conservative government’s fault, since it had not clearly designated China as a “threat” at the time of the alleged offences.

Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry were charged in April 2024 under the notorious Official Secrets Act.  

The prosecution was discontinued last month after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) claimed it could not secure government evidence describing China as a threat.

Both men strongly denied the charges and insist on their innocence.

The Tories have been trying to blame the government for the collapse, while Labour insists the problems lay with the position of the Tories, in power at the time of the alleged offence.

The two front benches traded allegations as to who had described China how and when, and descended further into talk of secret meetings, misquoting and political pressure on prosecutors. 

Ms Badenoch even managed to work in an irrelevant reference to Lord Peter Mandelson.

In all of the furore no-one stopped to ask whether China actually constituted a “threat” and if so how this manifested, nor whether the debate was good for relations with one of Britain’s largest trading partners.

Sir Keir insisted that no pressure had been applied on the CPS to make them drop the charges and that neither ministers nor special advisers were involved in the decision.

While the three government witness statements submitted as evidence – one under the Tories and two from Labour this year – are to be published, they are unlikely to clear the matter up. 

The first statement, by deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins and submitted when Rishi Sunak was in Downing Street, is understood to be the most significant.

The Tories are demanding that the minutes of meetings involving Sir Keir’s top foreign policy aide Jonathan Powell and relevant correspondence are also released.

Sir Keir stressed that he had wanted the case to go forward, telling MPs: “I am deeply disappointed by the outcome. We wanted to see prosecutions.”