China 'threatened to retaliate' if Labour classed it as an 'enhanced' risk as ministers face fresh questions over collapse of 'spying' case
China threatened to retaliate against the UK if ministers targeted it under foreign influence rules, it was claimed today.
The measures introduced this summer mean that 'agents' of other powers face criminal prosecution if they fail to disclose activities.
However, only Russia and Iran were included in the 'enhanced' tier for people to declare what they are doing.
According to the Guardian, Beijing warned the Foreign Office it would hit back when there were reports earlier this year that parts of the state could be added to the top level of restrictions.
The claims of wrangling about the Foreign Influence Registration scheme emerged amid a bitter row over what caused the collapse of a spying trial.
China threatened to retaliate against the UK if ministers targeted it under foreign influence rules, it was claimed today. Pictured, President Xi Jinping
Keir Starmer's national security adviser Jonathan Powell is facing calls to appear before Parliament to explain whether he had any part in the collapse of a spying trial
Prosecutors dropped the cases against Christopher Cash, 30, a former parliamentary researcher from London, and Christopher Berry, 33, an academic from Oxfordshire.
The pair were charged with spying under the Official Secrets Act by passing information to a high-ranking member of the Chinese government – allegations they denied.
Keir Starmer's national security adviser Jonathan Powell is facing calls to appear before Parliament to explain his role.
Days before the charges were dropped, Mr Powell reportedly gathered senior Whitehall officials including Foreign Office permanent secretary Oliver Robbins to discuss the evidence.
He told the top-secret meeting early last month that China would not be deemed an 'enemy' of Britain at the trial, according to The Sunday Times.
Experts have said that, without such a classification, it would be impossible for the Crown Prosecution Service to bring a successful prosecution under the Official Secrets Act.
Government sources stressed Mr Powell did not have any decision-making role, and only evidence that had been provided between 2021 and 2023 could be used in the case as the new National Security Strategy did not apply retrospectively.
The sources suggested that views expressed by a judge in a separate spying case earlier this year could have changed the CPS calculation on whether to go ahead.
Senior Commons sources have warned that Mr Powell could be held in contempt of Parliament if he refused to appear before the joint committee on national security strategy.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, previously warned that the decision gave a green light to hostile states and said he was considering bringing a private prosecution against the men.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was 'very disappointed' at the collapse of the case and denied there was any ministerial interference.
Asked if China was an enemy of the UK, she said: 'A 'challenge', is, I think, the word that I would use.'
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith accused No 10 of being a 'threat to national security'.
'We will push for a full debate in Parliament. This Government must be forced to come clean about whether it blocked justice to appease a hostile state,' he said.
The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy has been trying to get Mr Powell to give evidence for months. As a special adviser rather than a civil servant, it is up to ministers whether he is permitted to appear as a witness.
A senior Commons source told the Daily Mail that Mr Powell must now explain the situation in person, suggesting there could be a contempt of Parliament motion if he resists.
'He is knee deep in this,' the source said.
In July the then-Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said that Mr Powell would give evidence to the joint committee.
'The National Security Adviser has periodically appeared before this committee, or its predecessors, in the past,' he said.
'The rules state that, ultimately, it is up to Ministers to decide whether special advisers or civil servants appear.
'The National Security Adviser is a special adviser. That is unusual, but it is right that I came to the decision that I did in the end, because I understand the committee's desire to hear from him, and he does occupy a specific position in this sphere, which is important.'
The committee had wanted to take evidence from Mr Powell in September after Mr McFadden gave the go-ahead, but that has already slipped.
Former Cabinet minister Gavin Williamson, who serves on the joint committee, told the Daily Mail that Mr Powell's situation was 'quite extraordinary' and everyone should feel 'deeply uneasy'.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has warned of the impact of the trial collapsing
'There seems to be a sort of sense that he believes he can operate without any form of accountability or oversight…
'He really needs to be brought to Parliament and needs to either make it clear he hasn't been responsible for the collapse of this prosecution, or at the very least account for it and why it has happened.'
Sir Gavin added: 'He could be in the embarrassing situation of getting dragged there, which isn't really what should be happening.'
