Smith attacked over leaks fiasco
Prosecutors' decision heaps further pressure on embattled Home Secretary
By Michael Savage, Political Correspondent
Friday, 17 April 2009
The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, was criticised last night following
the collapse of a five-month police investigation into a series of
embarrassing leaks from her department.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that the shadow
Immigration minister, Damian Green, who was arrested as part of the
Scotland Yard probe after prompting by the Home Office, would not face
any charges for receiving leaked documents. The case against Christopher
Galley, the junior Home Office worker who handed him material, was also
dropped. The CPS concluded that none had posed a threat to national
security.
The verdict intensifies the pressure on Ms Smith, who is already under
investigation by parliament's anti-sleaze watchdog over her expenses
claims as an MP. It raises the prospect that Gordon Brown will move her
in a Cabinet reshuffle which could follow the European elections in
June.
Mr Green said the police should never have been involved and that the
Home Secretary had shown "poor judgement" in allowing her frustrations
over the leaks to culminate in a Scotland Yard investigation. He said
the police's involvement symbolised an "out of touch, authoritarian,
failing Government". Last night Mr Green claimed that the police warned
him that he could face life imprisonment during his interrogation. "I
just thought 'this is absurd'," he told BBC's Newsnight.
The collapse of the case puts the spotlight back on the Commons Speaker,
Michael Martin, who let police raid Mr Green's office without a warrant.
The leaks included evidence that the Home Secretary had been warned that
thousands of illegal immigrants had been cleared to work in government
departments, and an email from Ms Smith to the Prime Minister expressing
fears that recession could lead to a rise in crime. The director of
public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, said that much of the information in
the leaked documents was known outside the Home Office already, and that
"some of the information leaked undoubtedly touched on matters of
legitimate public interest".
"The information leaked was not secret information or information
affecting national security," he said, contradicting information given
to police by the Cabinet Office, which stated that there had been
"considerable damage to national security already as a result of some of
these leaks".
Mr Starmer added that the information "did not expose anyone to a risk
of injury or death. Nor, in many respects, was it highly confidential.
Much of it was known to others outside the Civil Service, for example in
the security industry or the Labour Party or Parliament."
Mr Green said he did not expect an apology from the Home Secretary, but
called on her to take responsibility for the misleading information
handed to police. He is to ask the police to remove his DNA from their
database now that he has been proved innocent.
Mr Green told Channel 4 News how he was first approached by Mr Galley,
saying that Home Office insider was "appalled at what he saw around
him". He added: "I have to tell you, he was not the only person who
gives information from inside government and I am not the only MP who's
received them."
Ms Smith defended the decision to involve the police. "Knowing there
were a series of leaks and knowing that we deal with some of the most
sensitive information in government..
that investigated,
police's handling of the case.
Last night, several MPs called for the Speaker to step down. "The longer
he remains in the job, the lower the reputation of the Commons will
sink," said Douglas Carswell, a Tory backbencher. "He has failed over
many matters. The guy is not up to the job."
Chris Huhne, Home Affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said:
"This foolish complaint has wasted police time [and] tied up prosecutors
unnecessarily.
an internal Civil Service disciplinary case."
Http://www.independ
fiasco-1669951.
Posts
