British Investigate Their Own Leakgate Security Scandal
Jim Kouri, CPP
November 19, 2005
The American news media's fascination with the Valerie Plame-CIA leak case appears to be blinding them to another newsworthy case of alleged leaking of classified information that is rocking the British government.
A government official is charged with attempting to leak the transcript of a confidential and controversial conversation between Tony Blair and George Bush regarding the situation in Iraq. A hardcopy document containing a discussion between the President and the UK Prime Minister was allegedly secreted to a rebel Labour Member of Parliament in an attempt to politically hurt Blair .
David Keogh, 49, a communications officer at the Cabinet Office, is accused of sending the document to a former Labour Party researcher, Leo O'Connor, 42, between 16 April and 28 May 2004.
However, in an admirable display of integrity, the MP returned the classified document to the Blair government, who in turn called in Scotland Yard's Special Branch to conduct an immediate investigation.
The Bush-Blair discussion contained in the transcript occurred during the Prime Minister's visit to the United States. It allegedly contains evidence of a disagreement between Bush and Blair over the war in Iraq.
British investigators believe that had this document been revealed to the world, it would place British troops in jeopardy.
The civil servant posted at the Cabinet Office is accused of sending the classified document to a former researcher for a Labour Party MP. The researcher was also charged yesterday under the Official Secrets Act with illegally "obtaining a confidential document about sensitive international relations."
The Labour MP, Tony Clarke, a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq, states that he immediately notifed British authorities when his former researcher gave him the document in 2004. Clarke, who was defeated in re-election campaign earlier this year, claims that after reading it, he felt public disclosure would risk the lives of British soldiers fighting in Irag.
A government official is charged with attempting to leak the transcript of a confidential and controversial conversation between Tony Blair and George Bush regarding the situation in Iraq. A hardcopy document containing a discussion between the President and the UK Prime Minister was allegedly secreted to a rebel Labour Member of Parliament in an attempt to politically hurt Blair .
David Keogh, 49, a communications officer at the Cabinet Office, is accused of sending the document to a former Labour Party researcher, Leo O'Connor, 42, between 16 April and 28 May 2004.
However, in an admirable display of integrity, the MP returned the classified document to the Blair government, who in turn called in Scotland Yard's Special Branch to conduct an immediate investigation.
The Bush-Blair discussion contained in the transcript occurred during the Prime Minister's visit to the United States. It allegedly contains evidence of a disagreement between Bush and Blair over the war in Iraq.
British investigators believe that had this document been revealed to the world, it would place British troops in jeopardy.
The civil servant posted at the Cabinet Office is accused of sending the classified document to a former researcher for a Labour Party MP. The researcher was also charged yesterday under the Official Secrets Act with illegally "obtaining a confidential document about sensitive international relations."
The Labour MP, Tony Clarke, a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq, states that he immediately notifed British authorities when his former researcher gave him the document in 2004. Clarke, who was defeated in re-election campaign earlier this year, claims that after reading it, he felt public disclosure would risk the lives of British soldiers fighting in Irag.
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