A British man who was acquitted of spying for China has told the he was a “convenient fall guy” for UK police and security services who wanted to put espionage threats by foreign states “on the map”.
Chris Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, has shared more than 6,000 messages with us, revealing how a Chinese official sought information about sensitive political matters in the UK – including the 2022 Tory leadership battle to decide the next prime minister.
In his first interview since his acquittal, which sparked a political row over the government’s failure to designate China as a “threat”, Cash admits he was “unprofessional and naive” to send “gossiping” texts to his friend, Chris Berry, who was in China at the time.
Berry, who was also acquitted of espionage, declined to comment on this story, but previously denied any wrongdoing and said he had been “unfairly subjected to a trial by media”.
The ‘s politics investigations correspondent Joe Pike speaks to Cash about the allegations.
Read the story behind the interview.