MP Damian Green was arrested for allegedly leaking highly embarrassing information about Britain's Home Office.
British police arrested a Conservative lawmaker Thursday, party members said, drawing a wave of indignation from opposition politicians.Suppressing the disclosure of information in a democracy will make others think twice before doing the same. That can't in any way be called good or helpful when trying to hold elected and unelected officials accountable. Not knowing all the facts, I'll make a guess that Green was being arrested under provision of The Official Secrets Act. A almost 100 year act of Parliament which is meant to prevent the disclosure of sensitive information. The trouble is, who determines what is sensitive? Embarrassing and sensitive aren't the same thing, and revelations about immigration related screwups in the UK shouldn't be prosecuted. That is just my humble opinion.Conservative lawmakers claimed that parliamentarian Damian Green was taken into custody over the publication of stories about Britain's Home Office.
The Home Office, responsible for managing Britain's borders and immigration, has suffered from a string of embarrassing leaks over the past year -- including the revelation that an illegal immigrant had been employed as a cleaner in Parliament.
Senior Conservative lawmaker George Osborne told British Broadcasting Corp. television that Green was "handling information that was leaked from the Home Office, information passed to him by a civil servant." He then qualified the statement, saying "this was all alleged" and that the matter was still developing.
Asked about Green, Britain's Metropolitan Police released a statement saying police arrested a 52-year-old man on suspicion of "conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office," adding that the man was released on bail without being charged. Police said they were investigating an "alleged leak of confidential government material."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said Brown had no prior knowledge of the move.
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"This could have truly appalling effects on how we hold the government to account in the House of Commons," Chris Huhne, a lawmaker from Britain's smaller Liberal Democrats party, to the BBC.
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Comments (3)
Well, bad stuff happens in ... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Paul Hooson | November 28, 2008 10:41 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Well, bad stuff happens in a country when you don't have a Bill Of Rights like the U.S. There has also been a number of very disappointing press freedom and civil liberty setbacks in the UK as well.
1. Posted by Paul Hooson | November 28, 2008 10:41 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on November 28, 2008 22:41
2. Posted by Ted | November 29, 2008 1:34 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
On Dec 5 the Supreme Court will either allow or disallow the usurpation of both the Constitution and the Government of the United States -- easily the most pivotal decision since our nation's founding -- and the silence of the news media is deafening (if not downright scary).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqH7rSHcvgU
2. Posted by Ted | November 29, 2008 1:34 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on November 29, 2008 13:34
3. Posted by MichaelC | November 30, 2008 10:12 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Compared to the military and intelligence secrets that our own press in the U.S. feels perfectly fine about printing in their newspapers and other outlets, this tempest in a teapot amounts to little.
When will our own government get serious and bring charges against the New York Times and others for their crimes of espionage?? At a time of war, for a functionary of the Fourth Estate to take it upon themselves to determine which classified documents they will reveal to the public is unconscionable.
Doesn't seem that it will reach that level in Great Britain.
3. Posted by MichaelC | November 30, 2008 10:12 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on November 30, 2008 10:12