The Big Breach - Index of

The Big Breach; From Top Secret to Maximum SecurityCompliments of http://www.192.comThe screws escorted me back up to Bow Street Magistrate's court onMonday, 17 November for my third and final chance to get bail. Theysubjected me to the usual Full Monty's, but this time there was nopolice escort. The authorities presumably realised they didn't have adangerous prisoner on their hands, despite MI6's claims. By then itmattered little to me whether or not bail was granted as I was resignedto spending more time in jail. My only chance of release lay in theslim possibility that the Attorney General, John Morris, might drop thecharges. Breaches of the OSA are not automatically prosecuted: specificauthorisation, known as a `fiat', must be issued by the AttorneyGeneral. Ostensibly, it is his decision alone, but in reality theintelligence services decide. They are always the first governmentagencies to discover breaches of the OSA, so if they do not want aprosecution, as in the case of Melissa Norwood, they keep quiet. But ifthey want a person prosecuted, as was clear in my case, they swingevery axe they can find in Whitehall to ensure that it is carried outwith an iron fist. MI6 would lobby Morris hard. But he had notimmediately conceded, suggesting that he might at least have somedoubts. Like Prime Minister Tony Blair and the rest of the Labourcabinet, Morris had voted against the OSA in 1989. But Owen came to thedoor-hatch to bring the news. `Morris has just faxed through the fiat.I am afraid there's no way out now.' It was a blow, but I had takencare not to let my hopes of release get too high. There was now littlepoint in contesting bail. With a fiat issued only a few minutes beforethe hearing, only a brave magistrate would grant it. Anyway, there wereadvantages to staying in prison, as time spent on remand would counttowards my final sentence.Three days later, on the BBC radio I heard news that highlighted thepolitical nature of OSA prosecutions. Chris Patten, a former Toryminister and political heavyweight who had lost his seat in the lastgeneral election, had been appointed Governor of Hong Kong to overseethe years leading up to the 1999 handover of power to China. AsGovernor, he signed the OSA and regularly received CX reports. He alsoauthorised the journalist Jonathan Dimbleby to write an officialbiography glorifying his governorship, entitled The Last Days. In orderto substantiate aspects of the book, and no doubt also to pump upsales, Patten gave Dimbleby direct copies of many CX reports. Thisbrazen breach of the OSA was more serious than that posed by givingMartyn a heavily disguised synopsis that was never published. Thepolice and the CPS wanted to prosecute but Morris refused to issue thefiat, arguing that there was `no useful purpose' in prosecuting Patten.If breaches of secrecy laws are not applied consistently to alloffenders, whatever their status, then they are political offences. Iwrote to Morris from my prison cell asking him to explain thisinconsistency and asked what `useful purpose' he saw in prosecuting me.He never replied.One of the many restrictions imposed on A-cat prisoners is closecontrol over visits. We were only permitted visits from immediatefamily, and then only after they had been approved by the police andprison service. On my first day in Belmarsh, using a specialapplication form, I nominated my mother as my first visitor. This wassent to Cumbria SB and two PCs interviewed her at home. It wasn't untilFriday, 21 November, three weeks after my arrest, that she was clearedpage- 183 - To purchase the original limited edition hardback version of this bookplease call 08000 192 192 or go to http://www.192.com