The debate in Parliament about the arrest of Damian Green touches on similar concerns to the court case involving local newspaper reporter Sally Murrer.
Although Sally Murrer is not from Sussex, her arrest for chatting off-the-record with a police officer should be of concern not just to journalists but to every reader of The Argus.
She was subject to covert surveillance and bugging, strip-searched and humiliated for doing her job.
The courts found her innocent and the police and Crown Prosecution Service have rightly come in for much criticism for their oppressive approach.
She was charged with the same offence Damian Green MP is being investigated for – “aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office”.
No prizes for guessing whether Damian Green’s case will ever reach court.
Kenneth Clarke, the former Chancellor, made some important points about why people like Damian Green and Sally Murrer should not be arrested or prosecuted.
The privileges enjoyed by MPs and journalists are not for their own benefit. Those privileges exist to benefit MPs’ constituents and the voters and taxpayers who read newspapers, listen to the radio and watch television.
He noted that people who leak are not always heroic but rarely harm national security.
In fact, even leaks about defence matters can sharpen Government policy rather than harm it. He cited the leaks to Winston Churchill during the 1930s. If they hadn’t happened, the outcome of the Second World War might have been much worse for us.
The underlying point is that we need a free flow of information and the Government and police find it embarrassing when this means they are properly held to account.
A genuine risk to national security would be of grave concern. The fact that national security was not threatened by Damian Green or Sally Murrer says a lot about how the Government and police misuse the powers they have in law.
Perhaps it is time that those involved in wrongful arrest faced criminal charges themselves. Then they might be more likely to think long and hard before committing their own acts of “aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office”.
S Johnson, Marine Parade, Brighton
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