The Attorney General and Keir Starmer‘s No10 enforcer have been summoned for a grilling at Parliament on the China spying case.
The National Security Strategy Committee has called Lord Hermer and Darren Jones to give evidence on the collapse of the trial.
The pair are being asked to appear before MPs and peers next Tuesday, to explain what they knew about the situation and when.
The letter to Lord Hermer from chair Matt Western said: ‘The purpose of the inquiry is to examine the adequacy of processes and decision-making in relation to espionage cases, and to bring clarity to some of the questions that have arisen in recent weeks.’
The prosecution against Chris Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 33, collapsed last month after the Government refused to classify Beijing as a threat to national security. Both men were formally declared not guilty and deny any wrongdoing.
The National Security Strategy Committee has called Lord Hermer (pictured) and Darren Jones to give evidence on the collapse of the trial
Mr Jones has been asked to say whether the Chinese state poses a direct threat to UK national security interests
Mr Western has posed a series of questions for Lord Hermer and Mr Jones – the PM’s chief minister – to answer ahead of the hearing
There have been claims that the deputy national security adviser’s updated evidence including an element of the Labour manifesto might have been the final straw for the Crown Prosecution Service.
That stated the UK Government ‘is committed to pursuing a positive relationship with China’.
Mr Western has posed a series of questions for Lord Hermer and Mr Jones – the PM’s chief minister – to answer ahead of the hearing.
They include asking Mr Jones to say whether the Chinese state poses a direct threat to UK national security interests.
Other queries included whether the Government’s assessment of this changed since 2021, whether it would be appropriate for a minister to ask officials to ensure the evidence provided was robust enough to meet the CPS needs, and whether it was usual for prosecutors to make multiple similar requests for Government evidence.
Lord Hermer was asked about the Attorney General’s ‘statutory duty to superintend the discharge of duties by the Director of Public Prosecutions’ (DPP) in relation to national security cases, and whether the DPP would have made him aware of any difficulty in securing appropriate evidence from the Government.
Lord Hermer and Mr Jones have until noon on October 23 to respond to the panel.