A government contractor has been arrested in north London by counter-terror police on suspicion of an offence under the Official Secrets Act, Scotland Yard has said.
The 65-year-old woman, who is contracted to carry out work for an as yet unnamed government department, was arrested on Wednesday by officers from Counter Terrorism Command acting upon intelligence received, the Met said in a statement.
“She was arrested for an offence contrary to section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911, and was detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE). She currently remains in custody at a south London police station,” the force added.
“Officers are also carrying out a search at an address in north London as part of the investigation. Enquiries continue.”
Section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 is titled: “Penalties for spying.”
It states that ”[i]f any person for any purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the State...” including making “any sketch, plan, model, or note which is calculated to be or might be or is intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy”.
A Government spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “An individual who was contracted to work for the Government was arrested today for an offence contrary to section 1 of the Official Secrets Act, 1911.
“It would not be appropriate to comment further as there is an ongoing police investigation.”