The British government said on Monday it was not to blame for the collapse of a trial of two men accused of spying for China, saying it was a decision made by prosecutors who relied on language used by the previous government in its China policy.

The men, Christopher Cash, 30, a former director of the China Research Group think tank, and Christopher Berry, 33, were first arrested in March 2023, and in April the following year were charged with passing politically sensitive information to a Chinese intelligence agent. They denied all the accusations against them.

The charges were made under the Official Secrets Act which specifies it is a crime to communicate any documents which might be useful to “an enemy”.

In the past week, British newspapers have reported that the government’s refusal to describe China as an enemy for the purposes of the court case – because of a desire to maintain good links with Beijing – had undermined the case against them.