The Big Breach - Index of

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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
The Big Breach; From Top Secret to Maximum SecurityCompliments of http://www.192.comto make the seven-hour trip to south-east London for a 40-minute visit.There was a thick sheet of perspex between us to prevent any physicalcontact and we spoke through a recorded intercom. My mother found thevisit traumatic and, though she tried to put on a brave face, I couldtell that she was close to tears.A-cat prisoners were allowed to receive up to four letters a day whichwere censored by the staff and, in my case, copied to MI6. Most of mymail came from family and friends and I could recognise who a letterwas from by the handwriting and postmark. One day a letter came bearingunfamiliar handwriting. Even after reading it, it took me severalminutes to realise that it was from a former member of staff. She wrotethat in a few years time my offence would be regarded as purelypolitical, a morale-boosting fillip from somebody ostensibly from theother side. Shortly after her letter, a second piece of surprise mailarrived, the envelope bearing handwriting that, by the forward slopeand cut-down letter `y's, was that of a native Russian speaker. Moremysteriously, it was from prisoner XM2920 in Wormwood Scrubs. It tookseveral scans of the letter to make a mental connection with the nameat the bottom. `Nueman' was the MI6 resettlement name for NORTHSTAR. Mylast news of him was that he was about to start an MBA and he explainedin his letter what had happened next. After finishing the degree, heset up a business organising conferences on western commercialpractices for Russian and Ukranian businessmen. Unfortunately, havingaccepted their substantial up-front registration fees, he forgot to dothe rest. When some of the delegates demanded the return of their fees,he fled to Geneva. After a lengthy legal battle, he was extradited backto the UK and received 36 months for fraud. We exchanged a few lettersand started a game of correspondence chess which he was soon winninghandsomely.In early December Mr Richards collared me as I was going through themetal detector to the exercise yard. `Tomlinson, get back here.' hebellowed cheerfully. `No exercise for you today, you've got a policevisit.' My spirits fell. Police normally visited prisoners only topress more charges.After the strip-search, two screws escorted me to the A-cat legalvisits rooms. Waiting for me were DI Ratcliffe and the baldy who hadsearched my flat at the time of my arrest. He introduced himself as DIPeters and explained that he was a computer expert. Wadham was there togive me assistance. `Richard, we need your help to crack the encryptedmaterial on your Psion,' Ratcliffe asked sheepishly.It surprised me that SB, MI6 and GCHQ had not yet cracked the text Iwrote in Spain, as the encryption programme was tiny and used only asmall key and a simple password.`We wonder if you could give us the password,' Peters asked.`You're joking!' I laughed. `Why would I want to do that?'`Well have a think about it,' Ratcliffe replied in a manner thatindicated that life might be difficult if I didn't.The police left the room for a moment so that I could confer withWadham. `They've got something planned if you don't give them it,' hepage- 184 - To purchase the original limited edition hardback version of this bookplease call 08000 192 192 or go to http://www.192.com
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