A detailed article form the BBC on the subject of the China spy case for anyone interested. A case involving two men accused of spying for China collapsed because evidence could not be obtained from the government referring to China as a national security threat, the UK's most senior prosecutor has said. Charges against Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 33 - who both deny the allegations - were dropped by prosecutors last month prompting criticism from ministers and MPs. In a rare intervention, the director of public prosecutions (DPP) Stephen Parkinson said the Crown Prosecution Service tried to obtain further evidence from the government "over many months" but witness statements did not meet the threshold to prosecute. Sir Keir Starmer said the government could only draw on the previous government's assessment, which dubbed China an "epoch-defining challenge". Mr Parkinson said while there was sufficient evidence to prosecute at the time charges were brought in April 2024, a precedent set by another spying case earlier this year had then raised the threshold needed to convict people under the Official Secrets Act. China would have needed to have been labelled a "threat to national security" at the time of the alleged offences by Mr Cash and Mr Berry, he said. The government has always maintained it is "frustrated" the trial collapsed and Mr Parkinson's intervention comes after weeks of speculation about why the prosecution could not continue. Sir Keir said the government's description of China could not change retrospectively and had to be based on the position of the last government. "Now that's not a political to and fro, that's a matter of law.You have to prosecute people on the basis of the circumstances at the time of the alleged offence," the prime minister told reporters. "So all the focus needs to be on the policy of the Tory government in place then." In her speech at Conservative party conference, leader Kemi Badenoch claimed Labour "deliberately collapsed the trial" because "the prime minister wants to suck up to Beijing". Spy case collapse blamed on failure to label China a threat
He's really not, I can't f##king stand almost all he stands for. In anycase the Conservatives long since lost any support I'd have given them had I still lived in Blighty.
It's the whole 'first they came for ... and I did not speak out because I was not ...' poem though. He's a law onto himself and would happily use censorship on anyone. People are still being sent to jail for years for protests (Epping this week) and being arrested for tweets every day in Starmer's Britain. Actual crime is not policed. Digital ID, followed by our exit from all Human Rights laws under Reform next (with Tories pledging to do the same) leaves us all screwed.
Changing the rules to make stop and search easier would be a big removal of our rights too. Chris Philp announcing the Tories would allow routine stop and search without suspicion and that anyone could be searched was an interesting policy announcement. Maybe he didn't mean that literally but hopefully this is one policy Starmer doesn't parrot to try and win back votes.
Anybody who's not a fool can see where this is going, under the pretext of 'convenience' they're going to put us into a digital jail with total control over all of us.
They dont need to change the laws re stop and search just apply some basic level IQ. My 15 year old and 3 of his mates were stopped and searched last week, sitting not 20 feet away were 5 lads having a very pungent spliff openly laughing and pointing at how dumb and lazy police are. Stop and Search is box ticking and targets, nothing more, they dump a few Plod in an area and once they have hit their target they are off.
The UK is set to be the second-fastest-growing of the world's most advanced economies this year, according to new projections from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But the IMF also predicts the UK will face the highest rate of inflation in the G7 both this year and next, driven by rising energy and utility bills. Prices are forecast to rise by 3.4% this year and 2.5% in 2026, but the IMF says higher inflation is likely to be temporary, and should fall to 2% by the end of next year. UK economic growth rates remain modest at 1.3% for this year and next, but that outperforms the other G7 economies apart from the US in 2025, in a torrid year of trade and geopolitical tensions. The G7 are seven advanced economies - the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan - but the group does not include fast-growing economies such as China and India. UK forecast to be second-fastest growing economy in G7 - IMF
I have no idea, I've stopped following politics so much these days as it bears zero relevance to my life anyway. But for you to claim one source of information is so incorrect when you'll dig to the deepest parts of the Internet to find a source that fits your agenda is hypocrisy at its finest
It's been gradually increasing since August 2022, and also stands at 4.3% in the US and 5.9% in the EU. It is as thought there have been some global downturns, events, or uncertainties that are impacting already fragile economies. I would avoid forming an opinion based purely on a tweet, without any other context.
