Smith faces grilling over home office leaks
Tuesday, 20 January 2009 9:53 AM
By Laura Miller
Jacqui Smith was forced to make a climb-down today over claims "considerable damage to national security" forced her to involve police in the Home Office leaks debacle last year.
Only one of the 20 documents leaked to newspapers in 2008 could have constituted a national security breach, according to Sir David Normington, permanent secretary at the Home Office, in his evidence to a Home Affairs Select Committee today.
He and the home secretary were asked to justify why last year's Home Office leaks in particular warranted the unprecedented full-scale police action which resulted in Damian Green, shadow immigration minister, being arrested and having his parliamentary offices searched.
Jacqui Smith described the "potential" dangers of "close to regular leaks of information that should be secret" as the main reason the internal, Home Office investigations were stopped and the police brought in.
But an urgent letter from Chris Wright at the Cabinet Office to Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Bob Quick dated 8th October 2008, before Mr Green's arrest, stated: "We are in no doubt that there has been considerable damage to national security already as a result of some of these leaks."
Mr Green was arrested in November under anti-terrorism laws over leaked documents allegedly sent to the Conservatives by a government whistleblower.
He denied any wrongdoing, saying: "In a democracy, opposition politicians have a duty to hold the government to account. I was elected to the House of Commons precisely to do that and I certainly intend to continue doing so."
Tory anger that police were allowed unprecedented access to search Mr Green's home and parliamentary offices while he was taken into custody for nine hours was joined by a warning from Labour's Tony Benn that the action could have serious constitutional consequences.
"Once the police can interfere with parliament, I tell you, you are into a police state. Parliament is a safeguard against the abuse of power and once you start clamping down on it you are saying goodbye to the freedom that parliament gives you," Mr Benn told The World at One in November.
Ms Smith and prime minister Gordon Brown denied any prior knowledge of the arrest, and maintain ministers' separation from all police investigations.
"The independence of the police is what should be upheld. I hope that everybody can feel able to uphold both the independence of the police and the statement that no minister was involved," said the prime minister after the arrest.
However it is understood that the Home Office were under considerable pressure to halt the flow of leaks from the department.
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