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Kemi Badenoch has accused the government of a “cover-up” over the collapse of a China spy trial.
The Tory leader said there were a “lot of questions to answer” as to why the trial involving two men did not proceed.
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It is expected that ministers will have to answer questions about the case today, as parliament returns from recess.
In particular, there are questions around the role played by Jonathan Powell, the prime minister’s national security adviser, in the trial not going ahead.
Ministers have repeatedly said Mr Powell played no role in the decisions that led to the collapse of the trial – but Ms Badenoch said she was “worried that there is a cover up taking place”.
Speaking to broadcasters in Grantham today, Ms Badenoch said: “We will be making sure that we ask questions in parliament about exactly who knew what, where and when, but Jonathan Powell certainly has questions to answer.”
She refuted suggestions from ministers that Mr Powell had had no involvement in the collapse of the trial, saying: “We are seeing information that contradicts that.
“That is why it is very important that the government come clean about who knew what, where, when, and why this has happened.”
Former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash, 30, of Whitechapel, east London, and teacher Christopher Berry, 33, of Witney, Oxfordshire, were charged with passing politically sensitive information to a Chinese intelligence agent between December 2021 and February 2023. They have both denied the allegations.
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