Tuesday, 2 December 2008

The saga continues and gets more and more unpleasant!

xxxxxxxxxxxxx cs
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EVENING STANDARD   2.12.08
Met calls in outside force for 'urgent review' of MP's arrest
Justin Davenport

The police investigation into Tory MP Damian Green was thrown into 
doubt today after being placed under an official review.

Scotland Yard called in the chief constable of an outside force to 
check the tactics of the inquiry into Home Office leaks which led to 
Mr Green's arrest.

The extraordinary decision was announced by the Yard's acting head 
Sir Paul Stephenson, who originally approved the arrest. The move 
comes after the police faced a barrage of criticism from politicians 
of all parties.

Detectives involved in the case will also meet Crown Prosecution 
Service lawyers to review the "next steps" of the investigation.

The arrest was authorised by the Met's Assistant Commissioner Bob 
Quick, in charge of anti-terror operations, and approved by Sir Paul, 
who has taken over from Sir Ian Blair as acting head of the force. 
Both men are candidates for the post of head of Scotland Yard. But in 
a statement issued this morning Sir Paul said: "I am concerned about 
the issues being raised within the continuing debate surrounding the 
investigation into the leaks of government information.

"I have therefore asked Ian Johnston, chairman of the Association of 
Chief Police Officers' Crime committee and the chief constable of the 
British Transport Police, to conduct an urgent review of the 
decisions, actions and handling of the investigation to date, and 
also to provide me with an interim report within seven days and a 
final report within two weeks.

"In the meantime the investigative team will be meeting with the CPS 
to review progress and consider the next steps."

There is shock in senior police circles at the scale of the 
controversy which has engulfed the inquiry. Increasingly questions 
are being asked about the chances of securing a conviction and if 
charges are in the public interest.

The review could be the first step towards abandoning the case which 
comes as the Met is seeking a new Commissioner. One police source 
said: "With the level of criticism around the case, we want to 
reassure ourselves everything we have done is right."

As the review was announced there were also reports police will 
question David Davis, though this appears increasingly unlikely.

Today it also emerged Home Secretary Jacqui Smith sought assurances 
from Sir Paul yesterday that the inquiry was being carried out in a 
"proportionate" manner. In a statement today she said: "In view of 
the gravity and sensitivity of this ongoing investigation, I spoke to 
Sir Paul yesterday to seek his assurance the investigation was being 
pursued diligently, sensitively and in a proportionate 
manner."  [That's just a 'weaswel-word statement to cover for the 
fact that she had a session yesterday with Sur Paul -cs]

Boris Johnson also welcomed the review saying : "It is right that 
someone independent should look closely at how the police conducted 
this investigation, and whether the actions and decisions they took 
were proportionate and necessary, and I am pleased at the commonsense 
approach this represents."

But he also faced criticism for making public details of a private 
conversation with the Acting Commissioner when he was informed of Mr 
Green's arrest. Former Met anti-terror chief Andy Hayman, writing in 
The Times, accused the Mayor of "nothing less than political 
interference in operational policing"  [All he did was warn the 
acting commissioner that there would be a terrible row!   And there 
was! -cs]
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TELEGRAPH  Blog  2.12.08
Arrogant police chiefs despise democracy
Posted By: Daniel Hannan

If you want to understand why we no longer give coppers the benefit 
of the doubt, read this piece by Andy Hayman, a former chief 
constable.  [immediately following --cs]


The rest of the country is fuming about l'affaire Green, and in 
particular about the abominable way that the Metropolitan Police 
behaved, deploying twenty anti-terrorism officers against a middle-
aged Tory MP, his amiable wife and one of their teenage daughters.

There is anger, too, about the way politicians facilitated this 
atrocity. Insistent questions are being asked of the Home Secretary 
and of our abject Speaker.

One politician, however, emerges with unblemished honour. Boris 
Johnson, the Mayor of London, behaved exactly as most voters would 
have wished, defending parliamentary privilege, performing the role 
that the Speaker had lamentably shirked, and telling the police in 
blunt terms that they should not go ahead.

Although he is the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority, 
Boris doesn't run the Met. He would if it were up to me, but that's 
another story. Still, within the letter of what is permissible, Boris 
did what he could to prevent the Met from making a terrible blunder.

Are coppers ruefully regretting that they didn't listen? Not a bit of 
it. "The police are increasingly agitated about how the political 
class - in particular the Mayor of London - has handled the Damian 
Green affair", Andy Hayman tells the Met's in-house newsletter The 
Times. It is, he rages, "nothing less than political interference in 
operational policing".

If so, let's have more of it. There was a time when most of us would 
instinctively have wanted to trust the police. But the reservoir of 
goodwill was drained during the baleful Blair years. If our elected 
representatives are now "interfering" with the police, then thank 
Heaven. Since when was democracy a dirty word?
Here is Hayman's key passage. Read it slowly:

"When I was a chief constable, I regularly called my police authority 
chairman to appraise him of sensitive operations. He would 
occasionally seek clarification but the last thing I expected was for 
him to question in public whether the operation was appropriate".

You see? For the people's tribune even to question a copper is 
objectionable to our public sector elites. Hayman unwittingly 
provides the neatest possible demonstration of what is wrong with the 
current model. As things stand, police authorities tend to see it as 
their job to defend "their" chief constable from public criticism; in 
fact their job is precisely the opposite. A state in which 
politicians meekly do whatever the police want is the very definition 
of a police state.

If there was anyone left last week who still didn't see the need for 
elected Sheriffs, I hope they do now.
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TELEGRAPH    2.12.08
Senior Labour figure launches outspoken attack on Cameron over Damian 
Green affair
A senior Labour figure close to the Home Secretary has launched an 
outspoken attack on David Cameron for criticising the police leak 
investigation which led to the arrest of the shadow immigration 
minister.

By Robert Winnett and Richard Edwards


Lord Harris, Jacqui Smith's representative on the Metropolitan Police 
Authority (MPA), accused the Conservatives of improperly attempting 
to "derail" the police by attacking their investigation.  [With that 
job he would, wouldn't her? -cs]

He has become one of the first senior figures to speak out in defence 
of the police's decision to arrest Damian Green and the use of 
counter-terrorism officers in the operation.

The comments - in the peer's internet blog - are expected to add to 
pressure on Miss Smith amid growing Cabinet concern that she has not 
intervened in the growing furore. The Conservatives have accused her 
of being behind the decision for the police to investigate Mr Green.

Senior Conservatives last night said it was "extraordinary" that a 
senior Labour figure was seeking to defend police action which was 
now causing such widespread concern.

Writing on Sunday evening, Lord Harris, who is also vice-chairman of 
the Labour Peers' Group, said: "David Cameron knows that attack is 
the best form of defence and I wonder whether the attack he has 
launched over the police handling of the arrest of Damian Green is 
intended to distract attention from the Conservative Party's 
involvement in the whole matter."

The Labour peer also called on the Conservatives to reveal whether Mr 
Galley has been given any "assurances or promises about future 
roles". Senior Tory insiders described the suggestion as a "smear".

"I hope the controversy and fuss is not an attempt to prevent the 
police properly concluding their investigations," said Lord Harris. 
"To do so, would be inappropriate political interference in policing."

A senior Conservative insider said: "It is quite extraordinary for a 
peer of the realm to be seeking to attack legitimate concerns - 
shared by all political parties - about the way in which an MP has 
been treated. It indicates the true feelings of those around the Home 
Secretary towards what has happened."

Since 2004, Lord Harris has been the Home Secretary's representative 
on the MPA and is responsible for overseeing the counter-terrorism 
and security operations of the Metropolitan Police.

His intervention is regarded as significant and it came as Scotland 
Yard indicated it would push ahead with the controversial 
investigation. There had been calls from within the police for the 
probe to be abandoned.
The two most senior figures in the Met involved in the operation 
yesterday formally applied to the Home Office to become the next 
commissioner of the force.

Sources said that there were no "fireworks" or sense of panic as Sir 
Paul chaired his first management board meeting of Met chiefs on his 
first day as acting Commissioner.

Officers leading the investigation are confident that they are 
gathering material which could lead to a file being sent to the CPS 
in the case of the alleged Home Office "mole" - named at the weekend 
as Chris Galley.
Meanwhile one well-placed source claimed that the evidence gathered 
from Mr Green's arrest, questioning and raids on his offices may 
actually exonerate him by disproving claims made against him.

One source said: "I cannot believe that this will get to court in any 
shape or form and in that case it looks pretty bleak for both Sir 
Paul and Bob Quick. It may well have cost Sir Paul the top job."
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BBC ONLINE   2.12.08
Cameron and Clegg in 'leak talks'

David Cameron and Nick Clegg plan to meet to discuss plans to secure 
a Commons debate on the row over Damian Green's arrest, the BBC 
understands.

The Commons Speaker is to make a statement at 1430 GMT on Wednesday 
about the way police were able to search Mr Green's parliamentary 

office.

Many MPs are angry that he allowed police officers to enter Parliament.

The BBC's Norman Smith said several Tory MPs were considering trying 
to force Michael Martin's resignation.

Parliamentary tactics
He said they were looking at securing enough signatures on an early 
day motion expressing no confidence in the Speaker.
But he added that he understood they would not take any action until 
they had heard his statement - which will precede the debate on the 
government's legislative programme outlined in the Queen's Speech.

The BBC understands Mr Cameron may meet his Lib Dem counterpart Mr 
Clegg to "discuss tactics" ahead of Wednesday's statement as they 
seek to secure a debate on the issue.
Many MPs have expressed misgivings about how police were allowed to 
enter Parliament to search Mr Green's office, arguing that the 
Speaker should have stopped them.

Mr Green was arrested on Thursday and held for nine hours on 
suspicion of conspiring to commit misconduct in public office in 
relation to an inquiry into leaks from the Home Office.

Former shadow home secretary David Davis said MPs were "bubbling with 
indignation about what is going on and will want to debate it".

Some MPs had considered a protest during Wednesday's Queen's Speech 
but have ruled this out because they fear it would be seen as a 
protest against the monarchy.

As the row continues, the Tories say they were excluded from a 
meeting between ministers and parliamentary officials about the 
statement on Tuesday.

'Stitch-up'
Mr Cameron warned of a possible "stitch-up" after receiving an e-mail 
about the meeting, which was expected to involve Commons leader 
Harriet Harman and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.

He said all parties should have been present at the talks which the 
Tories suggested would see Mr Green's arrest and the police search of 
his Westminster office discussed.

The Conservatives say the e-mail - mistakenly sent to one of the 
party's officials [The Tories don't need moles.  The government leaks 
like a sieve -cs]  - showed ministers were seeking to "stitch up" a 
story about the background to the police action before the statement.

But Labour insist the meeting was about parliamentary procedure not 
the statement's content and it is understood that several of those 
reportedly invited, including the home secretary and Cabinet 
Secretary Gus O'Donnell, did not attend.

A spokesman for Ms Harman said Tuesday's meeting was "about issues 
relating to government business".

He added that the contents of the Speaker's statement were "entirely 
a matter for the Speaker".

'Bad blood'
However, BBC political correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti said: "Harriet 
Harman details in the e-mail several principles she sees as vital, 
including that MPs must be able to do their work and that they are 
not above the law; matters that would appear to be central to the 
issues the speaker must discuss."

Ms Harman has previously said she is "very concerned" by Mr Green's 
arrest and understands MPs' anger at the way police officers raided 
his parliamentary and constituency bases.

She has suggested protection for MPs' offices must be reviewed in 
light of the episode.

Lib Dem MP Nick Harvey, a member of the Commons Commission which runs 
the House, said he had not been consulted on whether the police 
should be allowed to carry out a search on the premises.
"I do not think any other members were either," he added.

But he said he believed the Speaker would have taken legal and other 
advice before making a decision.
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POLITICS HOME  2.12.08
Comments on Police Scandal
===========================
BBC News at 14:39
Boris warned Met that Green arrest would "cause a stir"

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London

Mr Johnson said that he had warned the Metropolitan police that the 
arrest of Damian Green would "cause a stir".


"I simply offered my view that it would cause a commotion, and that 
people would question what the police were doing," he said.

He added: "It was quite right for me in my function as Chairman of 
the Metropolitan Police Authority when informed that such a course of 
action was about to be taken to offer that view".

While Mr Johnson said he would not "get involved in the operational 
stages of the enquiry," he added that it was "right to make my views 
known that it would cause a stir, and it did".
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BBC News at 10:53
Outstanding questions about the role of the Home Office

Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader

Mr Clegg said a debate was needed about the rights of MPs to 
investigate government activity, added that questions remained about 
the role of the Home Office, and warned if the Damian Green incident 
passed "we will go down a slippery path".

He said MPs should be able to shed light on government activities, 
and "we need to have a debate about what the rights of MPs are to do 
that.

"There are outstanding questions about the role of the Home Office. 
We don't really know what was said to whom and when.

"The fuss is this. In this country Opposition MPs already have far 
fewer powers.to lift the lid on Whitehall, to break open the secrecy. 
The government should be accountable to the people.

"If we let the Damian Green incident pass we will go down a slippery 
path."
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BBC News at 10:48
Martin "failed monumentally" over Green arrest, says Douglas Carswell

Douglas Carswell, Conservative MP

Mr Carswell had said that the speaker had "failed monumentally" in 
his job, and called for him to be replaced.

"The Speaker has failed monumentally and I think at the heart of this 
are questions about the suitability of Michael Martin for this role," 
he said.

He added: "The one person in Westminster who is still hiding behind 
the fiction that correct process was followed was Michael Martin".
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BBC News at 10:29
Home Office incompetence at heart of Green arrest, says Dominic Grieve

Dominic Grieve, Shadow Home Secretary

Mr Grieve called for a statement by the Home Secretary, independent 
of the police review into the arrest of Damian Green.


"The incompetence that lies at the heart of the Home Office in all of 
this is, I believe, the main cause," he said.

He also suggested that the Cabinet Office may have played a part in 
the breakdown in communication between the Metropolitan police and 
the Home Office, prior to Mr Green's arrest.

"We need to ask if the Cabinet Office who seem to have a role in 
this, particularly Mr Liam Byrne," he said.

He added: "It is a failure of communication between the police and 
the Home Office may have been due to the Cabinet Office interference".
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Sky News at 10:12
Davis: Investigation into handling of Green arrest should be 
"apposite and quick"

David Davis, Conservative MP

Mr Davis said the investigation into the police handling of the 
Damian Green arrest should be "apposite and quick", and added that Mr 
Green does not regret leaking the information.

Asked what the investigator could achieve he said, "He can look at 
how disproportionate this was, how heavy handed it was. He can 
certainly look very hard at how the protection of parliament was 
trampled over in this investigation.

"There's very strong precedent about the right of MPs to receive 
information and not tell people where the info came from. This 
happened with Duncan Sandys.

"It's very good that it's going to be quick. It should be apposite, 
it should be quick.

"The more cover ups there are, the more withholding of proper 
information there is.all those things lead civil servants to think 
we'd better tell somebody.

"The government is only too happy to be vindictive against people who 
act in the public interest."

Asked whether he believed the police should not have been called in 
at all he said, "I think there's a pretty good argument for that. You 
don't normally expect someone locked up for something that is merely 
embarrassing."

Asked whether Damian Green regretted leaking the information he 
said,  "He certainly doesn't. He takes the view that he did something 
in the public interest. Frankly he is outraged."