UPDATE 1-British prosecutors drop case against two men accused of spying for China

British prosecutors said on Monday they were dropping charges against two men, including a former researcher for a senior British lawmaker, who had been accused of spying for China. The men, ex-researcher Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 33, both British nationals, had denied accusations of providing information prejudicial to the interests of the state in breach of the Official Secrets Act between Dec. 2021 and Feb. 2023.

British prosecutors said on Monday they were dropping charges against two men, including a former researcher for a senior British lawmaker, who had been accused of spying for China.

The men, ex-researcher Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 33, both British nationals, had denied accusations of providing information prejudicial to the interests of the state in breach of the Official Secrets Act between Dec. 2021 and Feb. 2023. The men were due to go on trial next month but prosecutor Tom Little told London's Old Bailey Court that they would offer no evidence against the pair and that "we simply cannot continue to prosecute this case", without giving any reason for the decision.

The case was one of a number in Britain involving accusations of espionage on behalf of Beijing. The British government has previously said Chinese spies were targeting British officials in sensitive positions in politics, defence and business as part of an increasingly sophisticated spying operation to gain access to secrets.

China has dismissed such allegations as "hype".