Back to the collapsed China spy case. Attorney General Lord Hermer is this morning giving evidence to the joint committee on the national security strategy about the matter. He has been quizzed on the context of the case, how it could have been handled differently and the legislation involved. But while Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government has come under scrutiny about its involvement, now Lord Hermer has pointed the finger at the Tories and, er, Kemi Badenoch.
Hermer told the committee that the former Conservative government was not ambivalent about whether China was an enemy or not. The problem, he said, was that ‘the government’s position was that it was not.’ He hit out at comments made by Badenoch, who was the former business secretary, and James Cleverly, ex-foreign secretary – pointing to the fact that the current Conservative leader proclaimed in 2023 said that China should not be described as a ‘foe’ but rather a ‘challenge’. Had the spy case gone to trial, Badenoch’s quote could have helped the two men accused of spying, Chris Cash and Christopher Berry, get off. Oh dear…
The Attorney General’s remarks came after ex-cabinet secretary and onetime national security adviser Mark Sedwill probed Hermer about the disagreements on evidence between the Crown Prosecution Service and the deputy national security adviser. The latter, Matthew Collins, believed there was enough evidence for the case to move to prosecution, but the CPS did not take the same view.
It wasn’t the only pop Hermer took at the Tories, accusing Conservative MP Gavin Williamson of ‘trying to insinuate bad faith into our national security [decisions]’. It follows a question by Williamson about the 1 September meeting which saw senior government figures and security chiefs come together to meet with national security adviser Jonathan Powell. The Conservative MP suggested the meeting took place to discuss the CPS prosecution – which Hermer pushed back on. The Attorney General fumed that Williamson’s allegation ‘does nothing – nothing – to increase public confidence in [our decision-making]’ and slammed the MP for his ‘dangerous’ line of questioning – adding he should know better, as a privy counsellor. The plot thickens…
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