Key facts
- Cash told the BBC he was a convenient fall guy for UK police and security services.
- The BBC said the messages contain no evidence Cash was paid by or sympathetic to the Chinese Communist Party.
- Berry declined to comment but said at the time of his acquittal he denied wrongdoing and had been unfairly subjected to a trial by media.
- England and Wales' top prosecutor said the case collapsed because officials could not say China was an enemy at the time.
- China has previously called the spying allegations pure fabrication and malicious slander.
Chris Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, told the BBC in an interview published November 11, 2026 that he was a convenient fall guy for UK police and security services seeking to put foreign espionage threats on the map. Cash shared more than 6,000 messages with the BBC that he exchanged with his friend Chris Berry, whom he met in 2018 while both taught English in China.
The messages show a Chinese official sought information about sensitive UK political matters, including the 2022 Conservative leadership contest to decide the next prime minister. In voice notes, Berry described a summer 2022 meeting with a senior Chinese official at a government-owned villa, saying the official asked about the Tory leadership situation. Berry later identified the official as Cai Qi, though he has since disputed that he met someone as senior as Cai Qi, and the BBC said it remains unclear whether the identification was correct.
Cash said he was unprofessional and naive to send gossiping texts but denied any wrongdoing, and the BBC said the messages contain no evidence he was paid by or sympathetic to the Chinese Communist Party. Berry declined to comment but said at the time of his acquittal that he denied wrongdoing and had been unfairly subjected to a trial by media.
Both men were charged with espionage and maintained their innocence. England and Wales' top prosecutor said the case collapsed in autumn 2025 because government officials could not say China had been classed as an enemy at the time, prompting accusations of political interference. China has previously called the spying allegations pure fabrication and malicious slander.