- Christopher Cash, 29, and Christopher Berry, 32, charged with spying for China, have been granted bail in London.
- They are suspected of violating the Official Secrets Act by providing useful information to China from the end of 2021 to February 2023.
- The two men reportedly communicated with each other and with a person believed to be a Chinese intelligence agent.
A former researcher who worked for the British Parliament and another man charged with spying for China were granted bail on Friday after their first court appearances in London.
Christopher Cash, 29, and Christopher Berry, 32, began collecting information and documents from the end of the year that could be “useful to an enemy country (China)” and could “impair the security or interests” of the UK. He was charged with violating the Official Secrets Act. February 2021 and 2023.
The two men, who did not give statements when they appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, are accused of having contact with each other and being suspected of being Chinese agents.
British prosecutors indict two men, including a political investigator, on suspicion of spying for China
Mr Cash, a parliamentary researcher who worked with senior members of the ruling Conservative Party, was ordered not to enter parliament or have any contact with MPs.
Former British Parliamentary Research Fellow Christopher Cash will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on April 26, 2024, to face Official Secrets Act charges relating to alleged gathering of intelligence for China. (via Jeff Moore/PA)
Cash’s colleagues include Alicia Kearns, who currently chairs the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee, and her predecessor, Tom Tugendhat, who is now security minister.
Mr Berry is an Oxfordshire-based academic who has reportedly been teaching in China since 2015.
The defendants were ordered not to travel outside the UK or contact each other. They were ordered to appear at the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, on May 10 for a preliminary hearing.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Chinese embassy called the allegations a “complete fabrication” and “malicious slander” and called on Britain to “stop anti-China political manipulation.”
The two were indicted on the same day that three others were arrested in Germany on suspicion of espionage and arranging the transfer of technical information with possible military use to China.
Also on Monday, an aide to a prominent German far-right member of the European Parliament was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
British intelligence officials have increasingly warned of covert activities by the Chinese government in recent years.
