TORY MP Damian Green and his Home Office mole will NOT be charged in the leak scandal, the News of the World can reveal. Prosecutors say papers seized from Mr Green’s Commons office cannot be used as evidence in a trial. They add that cops FAILED to conduct a proper search in Westminster.
The conclusions, in a secret early review by the Crown Prosecution Service, coincide with the initial findings of an independent police probe. That investigation is already concluding the case is “not prosecutable”, and the decision to arrest the Shadow Immigration Minister was “over the top”. One source said: “This was a sledgehammer to crack a nut by Scotland Yard—totally disproportionate.”
The findings are a humiliation for Met Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, head of the counter-terrorism unit. The view is growing that the original arrest decision, made by a chief inspector, was simply rubber-stamped and the implications not properly considered by his ultimate boss, Mr Quick. Acting Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson told Quick: “You are completely f**king me over, you know. I will get the blame when it all goes wrong.”
Cops had told the Commons’ Serjeant at Arms, Jill Pay, they wanted to search an MP’s office but failed to tell her WHO the MP was.
A top CPS source said: “Police must state clearly who they are investigating and why they wish to carry out a search. This did not happen until after they had obtained permission. “Therefore the evidence would be subject to a sustained legal challenge.” Police found that mole Christopher Galley only passed on documents relating to immigration—not terrorism. He faces Home Office disciplinary proceedings and is expected to be dismissed.
UPDATE: Having said all that, before Messers Green & Galley unpop the champagne corks, they had better read the Sunday Telegraph, who report almost the direct opposite. They reckon the Police are motoring ahead with the inquiry and have no intention of backing down.
Glad that's all cleared up then.
15 comments:
It's almost as if they were just making up stories.
I suspect the screw's guess is probably better than the torygraph's here but who knows?
summed up in one, labour left doesn't know what the labour right is up to
The News of the World are, I suspect, the more accurate.
I said before that the search of Damian Green's office and home etc would be ruled out of order and not acceptable by any trial judge.
Large, VERY large compensation package for Damian Green....and Galley will face internal disciplinary charges and will be dismissed.
But your later story of GOVE and BROWN. Strange that it has taken so long to come out, isnt it.
Did Gove not want to cause maximum embarrassment to Brown when it mattered? or did he share Cameron's apparant reluctance to fully back Green?
It does not gell in my mind. Very strange. I mean this is brilliant information which, if brought out by Cameron in the debate on the Queen's Loyal Address would have been absolute dynamite.
Now....it will cause a few ripples but the danger, for Brown and the Labour Party, has past I fear.
Open doors are slamming in the face of David Cameron.
I think this is a reasonable test as to which newspaper is the more reliable in reporting major political stories.
On the one hand, there is NOTW, which I have not so much as read over anyone's shoulder for 40 years and would normally dismiss as totally without merit.
On the other is the Telegraph which (save for Sundays when I take the Sunday Times) I get daily.
Yet, I would bet that NOTW for all its tits, bums, soaps or whatever will be the more accurate.
If so, it's not just Michael Martin who should be walking the plank, but a fair few editorial and staff and dead-head commentators.
If not, how is it that I,a regular reader, might even think so?
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
Iain, you could do worse than read Tariq Ghaffur's piece in the Mail on Sunday - here
"Jimmy said...
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day."
Which is more than you are Jimmy, any day...
Well, I'm glad that's all sorted.
I presume you will be taking exactly the same line if and when the Tories get in and leaks begin.
"Iain, you could do worse than read Tariq Ghaffur's piece in the Mail on Sunday"
How?
@ Strapworld
"and the Labour Party, has past I fear"
Certainly does. Now the question is 'Does it have a future?'.
Given the News of the Screws hilariously poor record on Cash for Honours, I don't think you can take anything written by Mr Kirby in the least bit seriously!
Civil - the issue is not that the govt are not entitled to stop leaks - they are.
And they and the police are entitled to 'ask' the recipient where they came from.
The issue which you need to get your brain round is that if a leak is not a national security breach then it is not a 'crime'. Its internal disciplinary matter and any leaker must take the consequences. If in public interest they may even get off on appeal.
The real issue is the police arresting the recipient (it might have been a journalist) in this case an MP doing his job. In this case raiding parliament and taking away computers which just might have hd your confidential details on it.
Just how dim do socialist apologists for this dumb government have to be?
As for the Daily Telegraph - it is in such a sorry state these days I double check the date over the banner head
Let's face it, this is going to be a "He said, she said" case where there is no hard evidence of any 'substance' (to use a Brownism). Unless the police are hell bent on doing something to justify their blunder and try to fit Damian up, then it's all over
The cops can motor away as much as they like, but if the CPS say no chance, then no chance it is. That appears to be the thrust of the Screws article.
The Daily Telegraph employ Heffer to write articles.
This puts the Telegraph on an intellectual level of the Beano but not as funny.
Post a Comment