- Published
A British man who was charged with spying for China has told the BBC he was a "convenient fall guy" for UK police and security services who wanted to put espionage threats by foreign states "on the map".
asserted
who → publish → 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.
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official → share → minister
The messages show how Cash's friend in China, Chris Berry - with whom he had been sharing information - dramatically described a "secret" meeting between Berry and a high-ranking Chinese official.
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he → show → Berry
Berry said he had been told that China was concerned about how a British MP it had sanctioned might be promoted to a cabinet role.
uncertain
it → say → role
The messages also reveal how Cash used his friend as a reference during vetting for a parliamentary pass - which was approved.
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which → reveal → pass
In his first interview since his acquittal, which sparked a political row over the government's failure to designate China as a "threat", Cash says he would "never do anything" to harm UK national security.
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he → spark → security
But he admits he was "unprofessional and naive" to send "gossiping" texts to his friend, whom he met in 2018 when they both taught English in a school in China.
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they → admit → China
Although the trove of messages shows him discussing sensitive topics, there is no evidence in them that Cash was paid by, or sympathetic to, the Chinese Communist Party.
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Cash → show → them
With the government having previously said that Chinese spies were targeting UK officials across the political, defence and business sectors with increasingly sophisticated espionage operations, Cash believes his case was pursued as a warning to others.
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case → say → others
Berry declined to comment on this story, but at the time of his acquittal said he denied any wrongdoing and that he had been "unfairly subjected to a trial by media".
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he → decline → media
He said he had provided reports to a Chinese company, which he believed had clients seeking to develop trading links with the UK, and those reports contained no classified information and relied on public sources.
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reports → say → sources
Cash returned to the UK in 2019, saying in his resignation message for his job in China that he felt "guilty sitting back and participating in a system that I am uncomfortable with".
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I → return → that
He later became the director of a small policy group run by China-sceptic Conservative MPs in Westminster.
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He → become → Westminster
Meanwhile, Berry stayed in China writing reports for a large consultancy which, like many Chinese companies, has links to the government.
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which → stay → government
UK security services alleged that information from the men's messages, sent on the encrypted messaging app Signal between January 2022 and March 2023, had been passed to people linked to the Chinese state.
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information → allege → state
Both men were charged with espionage but consistently maintained their innocence.
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men → charge → innocence
England and Wales' top prosecutor said the case had collapsed last autumn because government officials could not say China had been classed as an "enemy" at the time.
uncertain
China → say → time
This prompted accusations of UK political interference to placate the Chinese government.
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This → prompt → government
China has previously called the allegations of spying "pure fabrication and malicious slander".
'A psychological game of chess'
The most striking section of the messages handed to the BBC concerns Berry's account of his meeting in summer 2022 with a senior Chinese official who wanted to have "a more detailed co-operation".
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who → call → operation
In voice notes Berry describes how, beforehand, work colleagues had told him the official's interest had been piqued by reports Berry had written, which included details of the UK's foreign policy approach to China.
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which → describe → China
In the voice notes, Berry says he was initially aghast, but then decided: "I thought it would be interesting to go anyway… not really intending to do anything."
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it → say → anything
Berry tells Cash he was driven to a government-owned villa in a grand compound.
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he → tell → compound
The experience "felt like a psychological game of chess" and "like a test", Berry says.
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Berry → feel → test
He kept his hands under the table as tea was served: "I didn't want it to be obvious if I was nervous.
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I → keep → table
I tested to see if my hands were shaking first, then drank the tea."
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hands → test → tea
Berry describes the senior Chinese official asking via an interpreter "about the situation in the UK at the moment, about the Tory leadership thing".
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Berry → describe → thing
At that time, Boris Johnson had just resigned as the UK's prime minister, and a Conservative leadership battle was taking place, which Liz Truss would go on to win.
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Truss → resign → place
Berry says he jokingly tried to ask his host which candidate China wanted, but the interpreter did not translate his question.
"And then the main guy just shakes my hand like it's time to go," Berry tells Cash.
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Berry → say → Cash
After receiving the voice notes, Cash replies via text the next day: "You, my friend, have just been elite captured" before adding: "You're in spy territory now".
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You → receive → territory
In many media reports these particular messages, previously released in a government witness statement, have been presented as a smoking gun - evidence that Cash knew his friend was passing on information to the Chinese state.
But Cash insists it was a "tongue-in-cheek joke" because he knew his friend to be "a staunch critic of the Chinese Communist Party".
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friend → release → Party
The next morning, he made a joke about Berry spying for the UK and getting in trouble with the Chinese authorities, he says.
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he → make → authorities
Cash texted: "Keep him sweet…
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Cash → texte → him
We may have a use for you yet".
uncertain
We → have → you
"I didn't believe he was knowingly spying on the UK through me," says Cash.
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Cash → believe → me
"I trusted my friend…
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I → trust → friend
I wish I had seen the danger earlier, spotted it and cut off all contact.
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I → wish → contact
"
'Bigger deal than I thought'
So who was the mystery official Berry had met?
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Berry → think → ?
"I found out who this guy is," Berry text-messaged Cash a few hours later.
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Berry → find → Cash
"Bigger deal than I thought."
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I → think → ?
Berry posted a link to the Wikipedia page of Cai Qi, who at the time was one of China's most influential politicians and is now, in effect, President Xi Jinping's chief of staff.
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who → post → staff
…and 84 more, not listed.
The Aporia
