When I was editor of the Quarterly Review,
I contacted the Cabinet Office over this sort of situation where a civil servant might contact an MP regarding improper or illegal activities by his dept. I was told that it would be classed as a disciplinary matter rather than a breech of the Official Secrets Act.
Obviously we don't know what, if anything, has passed the civil servant and the MP. But it's hardly likely to be something which could damage the State. So from the above advice, I would assume that the police should not even have been brought in to it; let alone the counter-terrorist squad - probably armed - turning out to arrest Green.
It's also interesting that it happens when Parliament is not sitting. That points to the govt being behind it. Michael Howard said he found it hard to believe that it could happen without the knowledge of the govt, and made a comparison with the start of the civil War.
Tony Benn, often good on these matters, said he thought a charge of Contempt of Parliament could be brought against the police.
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This is thoroughly nasty and I'm glad to see that the LibDem spokesman agrees.
Brown sends parliament on holiday in times of crisis to avoid any questioning of his activitoies and now he is trying, with the complicity of the Labour-leaning Commissioner of the Metropolitan police, to hamper any investyiations into a real scandal. The terrorism laws were used last night against a shadow minister exposing a criminal lapse in security. The buck should have stopped with ministers who failed in their duty not with those exposing their dereliction of duty.
According to Sky, the word from Downing Street is this:
"This is a matter for the police...The Prime Minister had no prior knowledge of the arrest of Mr Green and was only informed after the event."
Two classic Brownisms here. First, the washing of one's hands of any involvement in a controversy if it seems that negative publicity might result, by saying it is in the hands of an outside quango/ agency/ the courts/ investigation/ report/ independent adjudicator/ study, etc (delete as appropriate). In this case, it is the police.
The second is this - there is a denial of involvement, but the denial relates only to a specific part of the chain of events, in this case, the actual arrest of Damian Green. There is no denial that the PM knew of the investigation or knew that a senior Conservative was allegedly involved. Important questions like whether the PM or other senior ministers gave a go ahead for action are not covered in the statement.
Commissioner Blair is on his way out and not before time, Was this an act of revenge ?
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CENTRE RIGHT Blog 28.11.08 The Beginning of the End It's always hard to spot the significance of things when you're in the middle of it, isn't it? A random decision to change your library books might lead to a chance meeting with someone who alters the course of your life. Some such mundane committee decision (The PM is really fed up with these immigration leaks. Isn't there something we can do about it?) will no doubt be found to be at the root of the intemperate action taken yesterday against Damien Green. But it won't matter. What matters is the symbolism of the outcome of the decision.
The Met, unfortunately, have a history of politicised activity on behalf of the government - the interventions over 42 days detention jumps to mind - and of lying to cover up their actions when they're caught. [Another that springs to MY mind is the failure to prosecute Tony Blair for his corrupt acceptance of treasure troves of illegal donations to his party -cs]
When Jean Charles de Menezes was executed, we were fed a tissue of lies about his activity prior to his death (he did not look like a suspected terrorist, he was not wearing a bulky jacket, he did not vault over the tube barrier and run from the police, he did not resist arrest when confronted on the tube, the officers who murdered him did not give him a verbal warning before holding him down and pumping his head full of bullets). So it's too much to expect us now to believe that Damien Green's arrest was not the result of a political decision, taken at the highest level, implemented with the full panoply of New Labour's terror laws.
We really aren't fools, Prime Minister, and your strategy of believing us to be such is in tatters.
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From PoliticsHome Blog 28.11.08 Today, Radio 4 at 08:35 Woolas: As far as I'm aware no Ministers had any knowledge of Green arrest
Phil Woolas, Immigration Minister
Mr Woolas said he had no prior knowledge that Damien Green would be arrested, and that as far as he was aware no other ministers did.
"I can assure you that ministers had no knowledge whatsoever of this. [ He cannot possibly know that -cs] The wise thing for everyone to do is wait to see what happens.
"The police are independent from the Home Office. I can only say that I have no knowledge. As far as I'm aware no Ministers had any knowledge. This was a matter instigated by Home Office officials, and the Police were called."
Responding to John Sentamu's article in the Independent this morning which was critical of immigration policy he said:
"I've read the Archbishops article this morning. The morally right thing to so is to have an efficient and fair immigration and asylum system.
"I don't accept the central charge that being tough is immoral. You cannot manage a system unless you can count it."
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Today, Radio 4 at 07:55 Huhne: Green arrest will have a "chilling effect" on what MPs can do
Chris Huhne, Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesman
Mr Huhne said the arrest of Damien Green will "have a chilling effect" on what MPs are able to do, and added that he wasn't sympathetic to Sir Ian Blair's claim that he was hounded from office.
On the arrest of Damien Green he said, "I was frankly shocked and astonished by this. It will have a chilling effect on what MPS are able to do. Getting information into the public domain…clearly of the public interest is absolutely a key part. I find this a very worrying development."
On the departure of Sir Ian Blair, and his claims to have been forced out, he said, "There were real problems in the Met police…a real sense that the Met was losing direction. Frankly this story is more complicated, and he's not been hounded out. That said there is a problem…in that they serve two masters.
"I share the concerns over the structure. I'm not sympathetic to the claim that he was hounded out, because I think he politicised the role in the first place. It musn't become a political football."
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BBC News at 07:45 Cameron: Ministers have questions to answer aswell
David Cameron, Conservative Party Leader
Mr Cameron said the arrest of Damian Green was "worrying" and "astonishing" calling for Ministers to answer questions and make known what they think about the arrest.
"Well I think these are extraordinary and frankly rather worrying circumstances, he was arrested and held for nine hours, counter terrorism police went into his home, we had police in the House of Commons searching his office.
"What seems to be the case is he was arrested for making public information, that the government didn't want to have made public.
"He says it was in the public interest and information that he revealed about the security industry for instance, having thousands of illegal immigrants in it, that clearly is in the public interest.
"Ministers tell us that they did not know about this, well I think they have some questions to answer frankly.
"What they need to make plain this morning is what they think about it.
"In our democracy I really don't think what has happened is right."
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Today, Radio 4 at 0735 Davis: Green arrest between "error of judgement and judicial intimidation"
07:35 | 28/11/2008
David Davis, former shadow Home secretary
Mr Davis said he was astonished by the claim that nobody in government had prior knowledge of the arrest of Damien Green, and added that the arrest was designed to intimidate whistle-blowers across Whitehall.
On the arrest itself he said, "I think it's somewhere between an astonishing error of judgement through to judicial intimidation. Damien Green was doing his job. It's extraordinary frankly."
Asked his thoughts on claims that government had no prior knowledge of the arrest he said, "It is hard to believe. The Home Office initiated this. The Home Office initiated the initial investigation.
"It would have gone to the Commissioner. I'm astonished to hear the assertion that nobody in government knew about it.
"What were seeing hear is something designed to intimidate whistle- blowers across Whitehall."
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BBC News at 09:16,
Later Mr Davis spoke of his concerns as to whether government Ministers had been told, finding it odd that both the Mayor of London and David Cameron were informed but not the Home Secretary.
"There are two outcomes, one is that they knew which is an outrage at a political level, secondly what sort of Home Office is this?
"This is simply information that exposed the government for covering things up - and also information about the Home secretary showing increases in crime that she didn't want to have known.
"When it is clearly in the public interest that people should know, that is what we do.
"It is frankly outrageous, someone has made a very very bad mistake."
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