The Metropolitan Police has revealed that while it “respects the rights of the media”, it has been given legal advice that the publication of diplomatic cables relating to former ambassador Sir Kim Darroch may be a breach of the Official Secret Act.
Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said they have been told the breach may have “no public interest defence.”
Scotland Yard launched a criminal investigation into the leak of diplomatic dispatches sent by Britain’s US ambassador Sir Kim Darroch.
Basu issued a warning to the media suggesting they could face prosecution if they published any more leaked government memos – which was seen as a direct attack on press freedom.
Tory leadership contenders Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt both strongly defended the right of the press to publish leaked government documents, amid anger at the police intervention.
The Society of Editors and former chancellor George Osborne have also both criticised the Metropolitan Police for encroaching on press freedom.
The inquiry by the Met’s counter terrorism command, which is responsible for investigating breaches of the Official Secrets Act, was announced in a statement attributed to Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu.
Executive director of the Society of Editors Ian Murray said: “I cannot think of a worse example of a heavy-handed approach by the police to attempt to curtail the role of the media as a defence against the powerful and those in authority.
“The implied threat is that the media would be acting against the law in publishing leaked documents, even if they were in the public interest.
“This is simply not acceptable in a free society and will act as a huge deterrent to whistle-blowers.
“Frankly it is the kind of approach we would expect from totalitarian regimes where the media are expected to be little more than a tame arm of the government.
“This is not and should not be the case here in the UK.”
The statement from Basu said: “The publication of leaked communications, knowing the damage they have caused or are likely to cause may also be a criminal matter.
“I would advise all owners, editors and publishers of social and mainstream media not to publish leaked government documents that may already be in their possession, or which may be offered to them, and to turn them over to the police or give them back to their rightful owner, Her Majesty’s Government.”
George Osborne described the statement as “very stupid and ill-advised”.
“If I were the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, and I wanted to maintain my credibility and the credibility of my force, I would quickly distance myself from this very stupid and ill-advised statement from a junior officer who doesn’t appear to understand much about press freedom,” the former chancellor tweeted.
Darroch announced on Wednesday he was resigning, saying his position had become “impossible” following the leak of his dispatches in which he described Donald Trump’s White House as “inept” and “dysfunctional”.
The comments drew a furious response from the president who denounced him as a “very stupid guy” and a “pompous fool” and said the the White House would no longer deal with him.
The Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989 are used to protect state secrets and information which relates to the national security of the United Kingdom.
This includes matters of security, intelligence, defence, international relations and information which has been entrusted in confidence to another country.
It relates to those who work, or have worked, for the government and have access to sensitive information as part of their job.
The earlier version of the Act from 1911 protected whistleblowers from within the secret service on the grounds of public interest.
Crimes relating to spying and sabotage carry the highest sentence, with a maximum jail term of 14 years. Other breaches of the Act could lead to a term of up to two years in prison.
As such, if prosecuted and found guilty, anyone who leaked the memos could face anything from a fine to two years in prison if the leak was deemed “damaging”.