Where is the line?

The Tory press officer standing at the back of the room said it all.

The Home Office mole, Christopher Galley, has given a boost the Tories and heaped yet more pressure on the Met by aligning himself with Damian Green.

At a press conference at Bindmans - the legal firm which defended Lord Levy and is now representing Galley - Neil O'May insisted his client been acting for the greater public good. This puts a swift end to speculation the police were looking to "turn" Galley against Green, and get him to say the MP was pressurising him for the information.

Instead, the 26 year old passed documents to the Tories because they were "important for the public to know in an open and democratic Parliamentary system," his lawyer said. The police, therefore, cannot rely on Galley turning on Green and suggesting he was either bullied or otherwise seduced into providing the leaks.

Round two to the Tories.

But there is genuine confusion in Westminster as to what exactly is and isn't acceptable under this curious Common law offence of "conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office and aiding and abetting, counselling or procuring misconduct in a public office".

Lawyers have told the Times that to meet its test, money would have had to have changed hands, or some other impropriety or inducement amounting to "misconduct" taken place. Senior civil servants have suggested that the hurdle is lower - that "encouraging" or actively soliciting leaks - even if there was no inducement - is enough for the recipient to have broken the law.

In what could well turn out to be a significant intervention, Nick Clegg has today made clear that he regards "encouraging" leaks as perfectly acceptable behaviour for an MP.

In a press conference this morning, he said he would back any member of his shadow cabinet that solicited information from civil servants - because it's one of the few tools at their disposal against an "overmightly executive." He said:

"Opposition MPs simply do not have the levers at their disposal as they do in almost every other democratic system in the world to hold ministers to account."

This would only be unacceptable if money or other "inducements" had been offered - something which the Tories have insisted did not happen in the Green case.

Given the sheer amount of confusion on whether merely encouraging leaks from a civil servant, and the public interest defence, it's increasingly hard to see how the police could possibly secure any form of conviction

Comments

[Neil Martin]

Once the dust settles on this affair, I would like to see a right in law granted to shadow ministers to the documents of the minstry they shadow. The system currently encourages ministers to cover up information that belongs to the public not them. If they fail in their job it should be public. The govenment and the civil service need reminded that they serve the public not the other way round

[YMT]

This story is slowly turning nuclear catastrophic for Labour and it just keeps getting worse and worse for them with the Harman - Speaker Coercion email!

[Bob Melton]

So is Chris Galley fit to be mentioned in the same breath as Sarah Tisdall and Clive Ponting?

[David Boothroyd]

The press conference did make it clear that Galley has no conceivable claim on the noble title of "whistleblower". His intention was solely party political embarrassment and he never attempted to pursue any issue internally.

The impartiality of the civil service is vital in the British constitution and Galley's contempt for it is shocking.

[Gus Friar]

Anyone here old enough to remember the arrest of Will Owen MP in 1970? Was his Commons office raided?

[David Boothroyd]

Gus, I've looked at the file in the National Archives and his home was certainly searched (there are photographs of his home office, and of his garden). I can't be sure whether he had a House of Commons office at the time - most MPs didn't.

[Ian]

Galley was interested only in serving the political party he supports. As a civil servant he has contempt toward the Crown/People that just happen to pay his wages. They may be old fashioned, but words such as honour, duty and service matter. It would be no surprise if he still thinks himself trustworthy.

[MattLondon]

"Ian: Galley was interested only in serving the political party he supports."

Really? Told you, did he?

[Bob Melton]

mattlondon, did Galley stand as a Conservative candidate in local elections or did he not?

[FTP Topcliff]

I am glad someone raised Ponting and Tisdall.

Tisdall compromised national security by revealing when cruise missiles would be deployed and become operational. An open and shut case and she was rightly convicted.

The Ponting case supports Green/Galley.

Ponting revealed the direction the Belgrano was steaming when Conqueror sank it. His twofold defence was (a) disclosure was in the public interest (b) disclosure to an MP was privileged. He was acquitted, which suggests that non-national security disclosures to an MP are indeed privileged.

[Peter]

The fact that Gordon Brown has made a career out of encouraging leaks, but now information that he does not want people to know is now out in the open shows his utter contempt for the Parliamentary system, democracy, and the British People.

The leaks are not about national security, they are exposing government incompetence - something we tax payers who fund this farce should have every right to know.

[JONNYARGLES]

The Ponting case WOULD have supported Green and Galley, except that after that case the Conservative government removed the clause of 'public good', meaning that no-one else would be acquitted.

[R. Lee]

The people defending the governments action against Green obviously do not want to know that illegal immigrants were employed in the security services.

[nigel]

It comes as no surprise that Clegg would encourage such behaviour, The lib Dems try to paint themselves whiter than white, but time and time again come unstuck, The 2mil pound gift from a convicted criminal (soon to be back?) and the spin and lies they employed to protect Kennedy and Ming all to avail.

[David Boothroyd]

R. Lee, the government took no action against Damian Green. It was the police, following the evidence in a criminal case, who took the decision to arrest him.

[Keith]

The press conference did make it clear that Galley has no conceivable claim on the noble title of "whistleblower". His intention was solely party political embarrassment and he never attempted to pursue any issue internally.

The impartiality of the civil service is vital in the British constitution and Galley's contempt for it is shocking.

Posted by: David Boothroyd

Would that be the same sort of embarrassment that Gordon Brown tried to cause when he was shadow chancellor?

As to the impartiality of the civil service...when, in the last few years has it been impartial?

Do wake up and smell the coffee Boothroyd.

[Tony]

When you do it it's acceptable, but when it is the other side that's the guilty party it's a hanging matter. The utter hypocrisy of the politicians is breathtaking.

The real abuse is the use of the anti terrorist police in something that appears to have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism.

It is easy to judge the political affiliations of many of your contributors to this blog and bias plays a dominant role.

[Tony]

When you do it it's acceptable, but when it is the other side that's the guilty party it's a hanging matter. The utter hypocrisy of the politicians is breathtaking.

The real abuse is the use of the anti terrorist police in something that appears to have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism.

It is easy to judge the political affiliations of many of your contributors to this blog and bias plays a dominant role.

[martin]

There is no limit to nulabor's lust for absolute power. With absolute power comes absolute corruption, and nulabor is already absolutely corrupt. It is only logical that nulabor should have absolute power, which is achieved through its ongoing policy of Control or Destroy, ruthlessly applied to anyone arbitrarily deemed to be a potential threat. The police have become a nulabor poltroon, and have become indistinguishable from nulabor in terms of institutional corruption.

[richard dent]

Once, every x number of years conditions randomly - or engineered - come together to produce a 'lance the boil' situation. I have voted Labour since 1974. No more! I am a moderate with moderate views. This lot have, breathtakingly, ridden rough-shod over our most trusted values. I hope there's uproar in Westminster after the queen has left (but allowing her 20 minutes to get back to Buck House to watch the carnage on Sky t.v.) and a new order is born. I'm not 'up the revolution' in the normal sense. But.............................as the song goes " somthin's gotta give"
Finally: as Robin Hood said upon addressing the down trodden surfs and stirring them into action against the sinister barons "who else is with me?"