Senior Tory arrested over leaks

[Thinking Man's Idiot]

Senior Tory arrested over leaks

Damian Green has been Tory immigration spokesman for three years

Conservative immigration spokesman Damian Green, was arrested earlier in connection with an investigation into a series of leaks from the Home Office.

He was held on suspicion of "conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office," the Metropolitan Police said.


He has not been charged but is still being questioned by police. The Tories say he denies any wrongdoing.


It is believed to be connected to the arrest of a man suspected of being a Home Office whistleblower.


Series of leaks
The BBC understands that a junior Home Office official was suspended from duty 10 days ago over a number of leaks and the matter was referred to police. He was arrested but not charged.
It follows a series of leaks, including:

• The November 2007 revelation that the home secretary knew the Security Industry Authority had granted licences to 5,000 illegal workers, but decided not to publicise it.
• The February 2008 news that an illegal immigrant had been employed as a cleaner in the House of Commons.
• A whips' list of potential Labour rebels in the vote on plans to increase the pre-charge terror detention limit to 42 days.
• A letter from the home secretary warning that a recession could lead to a rise in crime.

The BBC understands Tory leader David Cameron is angry about what has happened and stands by Mr Green.



'Big questions'
Speaking on BBC One's Question Time, shadow chancellor George Osborne said: "I think it's absolutely extraordinary that the police have taken that decision.


"It has long been the case in our democracy that MPs have received information from civil servants - I think to hide information from the public is wrong.



Disclosure of this information was manifestly in the public interest


Conservative Party

"It is early days, it's an extraordinary case. I think there are going to be some very, very big questions asked of the police."


A spokesman for the Conservative Party said Mr Green had "on a number of occasions, legitimately revealed information which the Home Office chose not to make public.
"Disclosure of this information was manifestly in the public interest.
"Mr Green denies any wrongdoing and stands by his actions."


Conservative sources said a police investigation into a high-ranking politician would have to have been cleared at "the very top" and have described the actions as "Stalinesque".





'No prior knowledge'
But a Downing Street spokesman said: "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."


Mr Green, the MP for Ashford in Kent, who has been the Conservatives' immigration spokesman since December 2005, was arrested shortly before 1400 GMT at his constituency home.


The Conservatives say they understand counter-terrorism officers were involved in searches of his home and offices.


In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: "The man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office and aiding and abetting, counselling or procuring misconduct in a public office."


It added search warrants had been carried out at a home in Kent, a home in west London, business premises in Kent and in central London
"The search at the residential address in west London has concluded, the other searches continue," it added.

BBC

[Thinking Man's Idiot]

Please send your feedback on this newsletter to wato@bbc.co.uk

Martha Kearney writes...

A leak enquiry in Whitehall is normally a standing joke. Stories emerge from government departments all the time but very rarely is anyone caught. Generally the leaks tend to come from political sources, special advisers or ministers. Arrests are rare and the idea of an MP being held for nine hours is unprecedented.

Tony Benn told Shaun on Friday's programme that the detention of Damian Green was a breach of the privilege of parliament. In the past the veteran Labour politician himself advised civil servants who wanted to be whistleblowers to write to an MP and then they'd be protected. He said this reeked of a police state. Michael Howard told WATO that Gordon Brown had made his career by exploiting leaks when he was in opposition: under this regime he'd have spent half his time under arrest!

Leaking was also a feature of this week's Pre-Budget Report. By Monday we all knew that VAT cuts and a new tax rate for the wealthy would be the centrepiece. We won't know if the government's billion pound gamble has worked for at least a year – and even then its success won't be an easy one to trumpet. Even if the stimulus does work, the country will still be in recession in a year's time. Against a backdrop of possibly three million unemployed, ministers will have to argue that it could all have been far worse and that the recovery is happening much faster than it would have done without a fiscal stimulus. That's a tough case to put to voters with a general election looming especially with the kicker – Read My Lips, Loads of New Taxes. I can't remember a government going into an election with a firm promise to raise national insurance.

That's the best case scenario. So will the measures in the pre-Budget Report work? Will people spend more and so give a boost to the economy? Clearly that was what the two and a half percentage point cut in VAT is meant to achieve. That tax cut was chosen rather than simply posting people a cheque (as they did the States) to avoid the money being saved rather than spent. It is of course one of the big ironies in the current crisis which has been fuelled by banking and personal debt that the government should be actively encouraging consumption rather than saving. (It has made me feel slightly patriotic rather than extravagant on shopping trips lately.)

But there are many sceptics who wonder whether the VAT route is the right one. On Wednesday at around twelve a call came through for me at TV Centre. I was down at Westminster for Prime Minister's Questions. A French voice asked to speak to "Mar-ta Kee-arney". A nicely protective producer explained that I was quite busy and asked to take a message. "I am Christine Lagarde, the French Finance minister". We had bid for her but hadn't expect that the French Chancellor of the Exchequer would make her own calls. Yes, she was put through to me. It was the day of the European Commission's own economic rescue package. What did she think of using VAT cuts to boost demand? "Well, I do not like to disagree with my friend Alistair…..(long pause)….Darling (which she made sound like an endearment)…but as far as we're concerned...we're not certain that when prices go down a VAT reduction is that effective."

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the VAT cut, it's clear that no recovery plan will work until the banks start lending again. Figures on Tuesday showed that mortgage lending was down again after a temporary lift in the September figures. The government is clearly frustrated that after the £37 billion recapitalisation plan along with guarantees on interbank lending that money has not been flowing out to businesses and homeowners. The Treasury minister Ian Pearson talked of holding "banks' feet to the fire" to "make sure they do the right thing by small businesses and by people who want mortgages."

But are there levers which the government should have been using? Our editor researched government statements at the time of the recapitalisation plan in October when Alistair Darling promised that non-executive members would be appointed to the boards of the banks accepting government cash "within a few days". That still hasn't happened. Vince Cable told us he was "amazed at the lack of urgency" and accused ministers of "dragging their heels" given the "real crisis" businesses are facing. The Treasury said that the directors would only be appointed once the recapitalisation plan had gone through.

All this economic gloom should have meant a political boost for the Conservatives but the poll gap is still narrowing with Labour. They will also have to fight hard to counter the charge made by Labour that the party doesn't care about the crisis after Andrew Lansley's blog this week that the recession can be good for you (admittedly after he'd talked about the human misery it causes) and John Maples' line about letting the recession take its course.

British political news has rather been cast into the shade towards the end of the week with the terrible news from Mumbai, a city I have visited many times. Some of the eyewitness accounts have been gripping. We spoke to a businessman who'd barricaded himself in a room in the Oberoi for twelve hours. Another told the Today programme with true British stiff upper lip "This hasn't been the most pleasant of experiences".

All the speculation about the motivation of the attackers has made the novel I am reading this week "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" by Mohsin Hamid seem particularly relevant. I am really enjoying this story narrated by a man in a Lahore café who has been betrayed by the American dream.

Do join us next week

Martha


The World at One - Weekdays, 1-1.30pm on BBC Radio 4, 92-95FM and 198LW, digital radio and on the web - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/wato/

Listen again to the last week's programmes using the BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00fkpd7

[Thinking Man's Idiot]

Tory frontbencher outraged by arrest


(Friday 28 November 2008)

by DANIEL COYSH

TOP Tory Damian Green expressed outrage on Friday after being arrested and held for nine hours by counter-terrorism police.

The Conservative frontbencher was nicked on Thursday night and questioned in connection with a series of confidential Home Office papers which have recently found their way into the public domain.

He was released on unconditional bail without charge shortly before midnight but must return to face further questioning in February.


Speaking to reporters outside the Commons at 12.45am on Friday, he said: "I was astonished to have spent more than nine hours today under arrest for doing my job. I emphatically deny I have done anything wrong.


"I have many times made public information that the government wanted to keep secret - information that the public has a right to know. In a democracy, opposition politicians have a duty to hold the government to account."


Tory leader David Cameron condemned the "heavy-handed" way in which nine anti-terrorism officers had been sent to arrest Mr Green.


He said that ministers and police had serious questions to answer over the treatment of the shadow immigration minister.


Senior Tory sources branded the operation "Stalinesque" and suggested that police must have received authorisation from the very top of the government.


But Prime Minister Gordon Brown denied this, saying: "This is a matter for the police.
They are carrying out an investigation. It is not a matter for government ministers.
"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."


The Metropolitan Police insisted that the decision to arrest Mr Green and take him to Belgravia police station in central London for questioning had been taken solely by the Met, "without any ministerial knowledge or approval."


Mr Green received support from both the Liberal Democrats and new Labour MPs on Friday.


Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne described the arrest as "the most worrying development for many years."


And "war on terror" cheerleader Denis MacShane MP claimed that sending counter-terrorism officers to arrest an MP "shows the growing police contempt for Parliament and democratic politics."

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