Former Boris aide Dominic Cummings claims China stole secret government documents amid spying scandal

China breached high-level security systems to obtain large amounts of classified government information over a period of years, Dominic Cummings affirmed.

The former adviser to Boris Johnson said he and the then prime minister were informed of the breach in 2020 and that it involved so-called Strap material, a government classification for highly sensitive intelligence documents.

He said the fundamental infrastructure for the transfer of sensitive data across the world British the state has been compromised for years. He did not say how the system was hacked, but that he would be willing to share what he knew with deputies if they were to open an investigation.

But the Cabinet Office has rejected the claim as false. It is false to claim that the systems we use to transfer the most sensitive government information have been compromised, a spokesperson said.

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Mr. Cummings said The times: What I'm saying is that some elements of Strap have been compromised and large amounts of data classified as top secret and extremely dangerous for any foreign entity to control has been compromised.

Intelligence equipment. Cabinet Office National Security Secretariat documents. Things the government must keep secret. If they are not secret, it will have very, very serious implications.

His intervention comes amid serious questions about national security and government policy towards China, after the Chinese espionage trial was dropped. The charges against Christopher Cash, 30, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, 33, a teacher, were dropped this year.

In an attempt to draw a line under the conflict, Sir Keir Starmer on Wednesday released three witness statements which were part of the now-discontinued case against the two men accused of spying for China.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the case failed because the government's evidence did not demonstrate that China posed a threat to national security at the time of the alleged offenses.

But the government's deputy national security adviser repeatedly described the threat posed by Beijing in witness statements, putting pressure on the PSC to explain why it unexpectedly dropped the prosecution.

Matt Collins said Chinese intelligence services were “highly capable and carrying out large-scale espionage operations” against the UK, which threaten the UK’s economic prosperity and resilience as well as the integrity of our democratic institutions.

But he added that the government was “committed to continuing a positive relationship” with Beijing.

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In statements from the three witnesses, he also told prosecutors that he believed the two men accused of spying for China had acted in a way that posed a danger to the security and interests of the United Kingdom, by handing over documents that would be useful to the Chinese state. They deny any wrongdoing.

The evidence also reveals extraordinary new details about the allegations, including that one alleged Chinese spy told another that you were currently in spy territory. Mr. Collins also alleges in his statement that information was leaked to China about the Conservative leadership race.

Ministers hope the release of the documents will prove the Labor government did not force the case to fail – and have now urged the CPS chief to explain why the case was dropped.

Asked if Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Stephen Parkinson was the right person for the job, Minister Stephen Kinnock told Sky News: “I'm not going to comment on that,” adding: “I believe the DPP told MPs yesterday that he felt the evidence was 95 per cent, but there was a 5 per cent gap missing.

I think he is the best person to explain what was missing in those 5 percent.

But the Conservatives said the witness statements showed the extent of the threat China poses to the UK and made it all the more shocking that the Prime Minister knew about the impending failure of this trial, but did nothing to stop it.

Sir Keir insisted that the substantial evidence was submitted under the Conservative regime and that additional statements given to the CPS subsequently reflected the Conservative government's position.

Mr Cummings called it absolutely childish nonsense to suggest that defining China as a threat is a difficult semantic issue.

Anyone who has been questioned at a high level by intelligence about China knows that the word threat doesn't even cover the topic, he said.