An almighty political row erupted late last night (and spilled over into this morning’s newspapers) after counter-terrorism police arrested shadow Home Office minister Damian Green – the Tory MP for Ashford – at lunchtime yesterday. It’s alleged that Green passed leaked documents sent to the Conservatives by a Government whistleblower (believed to be male, and himself arrested ten days ago having acted as cover for absent staff in the private offices of Home Office ministers) on to members of the national press.
Green’s home, constituency office and Commons office were all searched by counter-terrorism police officers, so too his London residence, and he may now be charged if it’s proven that he received the documents in question and that, in the eyes of the law, any wrongdoing has occurred. Police are understood to have removed files and a computer hard drive from the MP’s office.
Focus on four documents
At the present time, it’s understood the inquiry is focusing on four Home Office documents allegedly obtained by Green’s party between November last year and September this year.
Last November, of course, Government papers emanating from the private office of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith were leaked to the opposition. They showed that ministers had known for four months about thousands of illegal workers (some of them also illegal immigrants) in receipt of Security Industry Authority licences and duly cleared to work as security officers at sensitive sites.
Other documents included information on an illegal immigrant working at the House of Commons, and a list (prepared by Labour Whips) of Labour MPs preparing to vote against the Government’s anti-terror measures in relation to 42 days’ detention.
Green’s arrest at his Kent home follows a series of leaks to the Conservatives on matters concerned with Government policy, including – earlier this month – a sensitive Memorandum from the Home Office’s most senior official detailing the current state of play in relation to crime figures.
In February, Green was critical of the Government over leaked documents at the Home Office. “Ministers like to talk tough about cracking down on employers, but it’s clear that the system is failing even in our most sensitive buildings and institutions,” he suggested. “What makes this worse is that ministers’ first instincts were to cover the matter up.”
Cross-examination in February
As of 11.30 am this morning, the MP had not been charged. Green was held at Belgravia police station in central London for nine hours before being bailed unconditionally at 11.00 pm last night to return at some point next February for further cross-examination.
The Metropolitan Police has denied any ministerial involvement in the decision to arrest Green. Its official statement explains: “A 52-year-old 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. The investigation into the alleged leak of confidential Government material followed the receipt by the Metropolitan Police Service of a complaint from the Cabinet Office. The decision to make this arrest was taken solely by the Metropolitan Police Service without any ministerial knowledge or approval.”
Indeed, one of Gordon Brown’s spokespeople suggested this morning that the embattled Prime Minister “had no prior knowledge of the arrest”.
Speaking early this morning, a “tired and very angry” Green commented: “I was astonished to have spent more than nine hours under arrest just for doing my job. I emphatically deny that I have done anything wrong. I have on many occasions made public various pieces of information that the Government wanted to keep secret – information that the public has a right to know about. 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 just that, and I certainly intend to continue doing so.”
Conservatives “angry and upset”
Not surprisingly, Conservative leader David Cameron is also said to be “extremely angry” about Green’s arrest. It’s believed that, in private, he has accused the Labour administration of “Stalinesque behaviour”. “Disclosure of this information was manifestly in the public interest,” said Cameron. “Damian Green denies any wrongdoing, and stands by his actions.”
Cameron is also believed to be “confident” that Green didn’t exchange money in return for the documents in question.
An official Tory party statement issued late last night explained: “As shadow immigration minister, Mr Green has, 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.”
On last night’s BBC1 Question Time from Basildon, shadow chancellor George Osborne was asked about the affair right at the end of the programme by chairman David Dimbleby. “I think it’s extraordinary that the police have taken this decision,” opined Osborne. “It has long been the case that MPs in our democracy have received information from civil servants. To hide important information is wrong and not in the public interest. The police have some very big questions to answer over this incident.”
London Mayor Boris Johnson has been quick to wade into the row with some “trenchant concerns”. Unlike the Prime Minister, it seems, Johnson was informed in advance of the Metropolitan Police Service’s plan to arrest Green. He has told Sir Paul Stephenson – who takes over as acting commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service next week – that this move “does not represent the common sense policing” sought by Londoners. Johnson has demanded “convincing evidence” that the action taken was both “necessary and proportionate”.
SMT Online: The Editor’s View
Taking the cynical view, this episode is all just a little too convenient for the Government, isn’t it? With derision being heaped on Brown and Darling left, right and centre for their fiscal profligacy with the tax payers’ money in trying to tame this unprecedented economic collapse that they (at least in part) have brought about, something was needed to deflect the opprobrium. As luck would have it, this little story unearths itself just at the right moment.
Not only that, Green’s arrest came on the final day of Sir Ian Blair’s sad and beleaguered tenure as Metropolitan Police Commissioner (The Teflon Don strikes yet again), and after Parliament had risen for a five-day hiatus. Had the Commons been in residence, MPs could then have raised the matter immediately with the Speaker, Michael Martin. The police search of Mr Green’s offices would have needed authorisation from the Serjeant-at-Arms, of course, who obviously answers to the Speaker.
The arrest of such a senior Conservative minister who looks after a mightily sensitive subject – and hopes to one day become a Home Office minister – is undoubtedly an embarrassment for the opposition. Green may now even face pressure from the Tory frontbench to resign his position. From the facts presented to date, it would appear that he has done nothing more than any other politician has “since the Year Dot” (as Labour MP Diane Abbott suggested on last night’s This Week, again on BBC1).
Potentially, this episode could precipitate tremendous destabilisation for the Conservatives at a time when they’re ahead in the opinion polls, but why should it? If there are illegal immigrants and illegal workers operational in this country (and in particular in the security sector) – and it’s proven that there have been – then it’s perfectly justified, right and proper for the shadow immigration minister to draw attention to that fact. If he didn’t, he would be failing in his duty. It’s in the public interest. We are trying desperately to clean up the security industry’s image. That being the case, incidents like this cannot be tolerated and must always be exposed.
Question marks over the police
There are also questions to be answered by the Metropolitan Police Service. For starters, who was their ‘informant’?
More importantly, since when have we had so-called ‘political arrests’ in this country? Earlier on today, Richard Bacon – MP for South Norfolk – commented: “If they [the police] came looking for information in my office I would tell them to take a running jump”. Like it or not, Bacon has a valid point.
The whole incident smacks of what many people have been saying for some time – that this is rapidly turning into a Big Brother State with monitoring by stealth.
There are plenty of theorists who would suggest we are already living in the landscape painted by George Orwell. One suspects Damian Green would be first in the queue to support that statement.
If a genuine democracy still exists in this country then the Government has a funny way of affirming that assertion. In a democracy, opposition MPs have a duty to hold the Government of the Day to account and should not have to fear arrest by the police and ensuing personal disgrace for doing so.
The incident also surely highlights a perverse and distasteful sense of priorities among those that rule us given the appalling situation being played out in Mumbai.
