Employees of The Guardian newspaper could face criminal charges over their role in publishing secrets leaked by Edward Snowden, Britain’s most senior counter-terrorism officer has signalled.
Cressida Dick, an assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard, confirmed for the first time that detectives were examining whether staff at the newspaper had committed an offence.
She also told MPs that her officers are looking at potential breaches of a specific anti-terrorism law which makes it unlawful to communicate information about British intelligence agents. The offence carries up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Mr Snowden, who worked as a contractor for the US National Security Agency, stole 58,000 documents containing names and other personal details about British intellience operatives, as well as information about this country’s spying techniques and capabilities.
Security service chiefs have expressed concern that lives would be put at risk if the information fell into the wrong hands, and warned that terrorists and criminals are learning how to avoid detection thanks to articles which The Guardian has published based on Mr Snowden’s disclosures.
Miss Dick told the Commons’ home affairs select committee: “It appears possible, once we look at the material, that some people may have committed offences.
“We nees to establish whether they have or haven’t. That involves a huge amount of scoping of material.”
Asked by Michael Ellis MP if her team was investigating possible offences under a section of the Terrorism Act 2000 which makes it illegal to “elicit, publish or communicate” information about members of the intelligence services, Miss Dick said: “Yes, indeed, we are looking at that as a potential.”
Details of Scotland Yard’s inquiry emerged as The Guardian’s editor confirmed his newspaper had sent unredacted copies of the highly classified documents to other news organisations abroad.
Alan Rusbridger said: “In stuff that was transmitted we did some cleaning up but we did not clean up every one of the 58,000 documents.”
Mark Reckless MP asked the journalist: “Can I ask why you did not redact those names?”
Mr Rusbridger replied: “There were 58,000 documents.”
The editor also confirmed that a “small amount” of classified material was sent to journalists in the US using the courier company Federal Express.
Credit to The Telegraph
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