Keir Starmer's security aide 'suppressed investigation into Chinese spying' after Treasury trade warning

The decision came after No11 officials warned that releasing such information could damage trade and investment links between China and the UK.

Sir Keir had made an audit on China a manifesto commitment ahead of last year's General Election victory.

Labour promised to "improve the UK's capability to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses" ahead of polls opening on July 4 last year.

The Foreign Office subsequently interviewed witnesses between October 2024 and June 2025 to reveal a "full spectrum of threats", including espionage.

However, Mr Powell was accused of only putting some of the report's findings into his National Security Strategy after facing pressure from Treasury officials.

The strategy document included just two paragraphs on the China audit, opening up then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy to face criticism for leaving MPs "in the dark".

Following the latest revelations, Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: “This is yet another example of cover-up and collusion within the Labour Government when it comes to foreign policy and China. Labour clearly cannot be trusted when it comes to national security.”

However, the revelations in tomorrow's Telegraph also come after the UK's top prosecutor blamed Sir Keir's Government for a case against two alleged spies collapsing.

Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry had charges of alleged spying dropped last month after Whitehall refused to provide evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service that indicated China is a "threat to national security".

Mr Powell reportedly chaired a meeting about the case shortly before it collapsed.

However, Downing Street has denied that Mr Powell had any involvement in the decision not to provide further evidence.

Sir Keir said: “I can be absolutely clear then, ministers were not involved in any of the decisions since this Government’s been in, in relation to the evidence that’s put before the court on this issue.

“The evidence was [...] the only relevant evidence, and that evidence was the situation as it was under the last Government, rather than this Government. You can only try someone on the basis of the situation as it was at the time of the alleged offence.”

Despite concerns about Chinese espionage, Mr Powell's strategy recommended that the UK should pursue "direct and high-level engagement" with Beijing to create a "reciprocal and balanced economic relationship".

Mr Lammy also made a statement to MPs on the China audit on June 24, just 24 hours after senior members of the Chinese Communist Party met with Mr Powell and UK business leaders in Whitehall.

Following his statement, Foreign Affairs Select Committee chairwoman, Dame Emily Thornberry, said: "Parliament and the public have been left with more questions than answers."

“At the moment we are operating in the dark,” the former Shadow Attorney General added.

“We understand the need for sensitive matters to be kept classified, but the Government must get the balance right.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves had also met with her Chinese counterpart, He Lifeng, just two weeks before Mr Lammy's statement, with the pair discussing ways to strengthen Anglo-Chinese economic relations.

However, a Government spokesman told The Telegraph that the China audit was not published in detail because much of its content was classified.

The spokesman said: "In June, we published a summary of the audit, which was conducted at a higher security classification and consistent with our Five Eyes partners.

"The specific details of the audit could not be published without damaging our national security interests."