Sir Keir Starmer’s top security aide has been accused of suppressing an investigation into Chinese spying after facing a trade warning from the Treasury.
Jonathan Powell, who was appointed as the Prime Minister’s national security adviser last December, is said to have removed details of espionage from the Foreign Office’s so-called China audit in June.
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”.
The revelation in tomorrow’s Telegraph comes after the UK’s top prosecutor blamed Sir Keir’s Government for a case against two alleged spies collapsing.
However, the Prime Minister claimed today that no ministers had been involved in the decision to drop the trial against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry last month.
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.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves met with her Chinese counterpart, He Lifeng, just two weeks earlier, with the pair discussing plans 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.”
