Keir Starmer was forced to come out and praise his deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins today, less than 24 hours after a senior minister blamed him for collapse of a Chinese spying court case.
Sir Keir told the Cabinet this morning that Matthew Collins ‘faithfully carries out his job’, the PM’s spokesman told reporters, adding that the long-serving civil servant had ‘the highest levels of integrity and experience’.
The move to praise the DNSA came as Labour was accused of using him as a scapegoat for the dismissal of the charges against Christopher Cash and former parliamentary researcher Christopher Berry.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis last night said Mr Collins was the lead liaison with the Crown Prosecution Service before it collapsed amid claims the Government did not provide the required evidence China that is a threat to the UK.
And Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper last night pointedly refused to say his job was safe.
But as the Tories and others lined up to suggest Mr Collins was being made a fall-guy for his boss, national security adviser Jonathan Powell, Sir Keir moved to support him
His official spokesman said the Prime Minister told his Cabinet at their meeting this morning that ‘anyone who had met the deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins will know he faithfully carries out his job’.
The spokesman also told reporters: ‘The deputy national security adviser is a highly respected securocrat with unparalleled experience in working across the national security community to keep the UK safe, secure and prosperous.’
Mr Collins has ‘the highest levels of integrity and experience’, the official said, adding that Sir Keir ‘absolutely’ has confidence in the deputy national security adviser.
Sir Keir told the Cabinet this morning that Matthew Collins ‘faithfully carries out his job’, the PM’s spokesman told reporters, adding that the long-serving civil servant had ‘the highest levels of integrity and experience’.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis last night said Mr Collins was the lead liaison with the Crown Prosecution Service before it collapsed amid claims the Government did not provide the required evidence China that is a threat to the UK.
And Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper last night pointedly refused to say his job was safe.
Mr Jarvis told the House of Commons on Monday that Mr Collins, a long-serving civil servant, did not hand over statements and his superior, the national security advisor Jonathan Powell, had not seen them.
But the comments provoked a furious uproar with the Tories saying he was being made to take the blame to help Mr Powell, a former aide to Tony Blair who is accused of playing a key role in the case’s collapse.
Asked if she had confidence in Mr Collins to stay in his job, Ms Cooper deflected the question on ITV’s Peston, replying: ‘The DNSA had to give evidence on the basis of what happened before I was in government – while he was in government but before I was in government.
‘That does make this process more complicated than dealing with other cases because of the changing government at the time.
Former security minister Tom Tugendhat told BBC Newsnight: ‘The idea of throwing Matt Collins under the bus, I think, is frankly pretty low.
The Foreign Secretary refused to say if Matthew Collins should remain in his post or if she had confidence in his ability in the deepening row over how Beijing is handled by Labour.
Jonathan Powell, Sir Keir’s national security adviser, is reported to have suppressed a major Whitehall investigation into China after lobbying from the Treasury.
‘Matt Collins has served our country with integrity for many, many years and is a very, very fine public official.
‘There is clearly a decision that has been taken in some way, either to do something or not to do something … and that has clearly changed the way in which the DPP is interpreting this.
‘We need a much better explanation than what we’ve had, we’ve already got the Americans now complaining about sharing intelligence, we’ve got the Speaker quite rightly standing up for the defence of Parliament and the defence for the freedoms of the British people to choose their own representatives. This is a really serious incident.’
Writing on Twitter, Tory former minister Lord Gove said: ‘Are we really asked to believe a single civil servant is alone responsible? I fear he may be being made a scapegoat.’
Both Mr Berry and Mr Cash were arrested at their homes in March 2023 and charged under the Official Secrets Act for passing data to China which was ‘prejudicial to the safety and interests’ of the UK and was ‘directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy’.
The pair strenuously denied the charges. They had been accused of spying for China between 2021 and early 2023, by which time the China Research Group was headed by Conservative MP Alicia Kearns.
In a statement to MPs in the Commons, Mr Jarvis denied reports Mr Powell had decreed China could not be defined as a national security threat at a meeting of Whitehall officials in September.
He said: ‘Of course, [the national security adviser] takes part in discussions about national security and diplomatic relations. That is literally his job.
‘But any discussions were on the basis that the case would be going ahead and how to handle the implications.
‘The national security adviser was not involved in any decisions about the substance of the evidence.’
Mr Jarvis said it was in fact deputy national security adviser Mr Collins who provided a witness statement in December 2023 under the previous Conservative government.
Further witness statements were requested and provided in February and July this year.
Communities Secretary Steve Reed insisted this morning that Mr Collins was not being made a scapegoat.
Asked whether Mr Collins was being ‘thrown under a bus’ Mr Reed told Times Radio: ‘I don’t think so at all, no.
‘The House of Commons wanted more transparency, and they got it.
‘No one said that Matthew Collins has done anything wrong at all. He provided the evidence he was asked for by the CPS and that’s the right thing to have done.’
