MP arrest row grows

THE Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, is preparing to make an emergency statement over the arrest of a Conservative MP for obtaining leaked official documents, amid warnings that the reputation of British democracy has been irreparably blackened by the affair.

Martin, who has been facing calls for his resignation over the row, is expected to make an unprecedented defence of his handling of the affair, following the detention last Thursday of Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green.

Green was held by police for nine hours, 11 days after the arrest of a junior Home Office official suspected of having leaked information to the Conservatives. MPs of all political parties have condemned the heavy handling of the affair by the police, warning that it will erode public confidence that their cases can be dealt with in private by MPs.

Conservative leader David Cameron last night called on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to join in the condemnation or face the charge of hypocrisy. Cameron said Brown had "made his career" in the 1980s when he regularly used Whitehall leaks to embarrass the government.

Martin is now under pressure to explain why the House authorities apparently allowed police to search Green's parliamentary office last week, from which they took files and documents as part of their inquiries. The Home Office has confirmed permission was granted by Commons chiefs before police entered the premises.

Officials yesterday continued to insist that ministers were not in any way involved in Green's arrest. The Prime Minister has stated that he and other ministers had "no prior knowledge" of the arrest.

However, Scotland on Sunday understands that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith had been informed by senior civil servants that the police had been brought in to investigate leaks at her department.

The Tories have laid down 50 questions for the Government, demanding to know the exact details of the Home Office leak inquiry which prompted the arrests in the first place. Green, pictured right, is now refusing to discuss the matter further. The row began after the Home Office ordered a leak inquiry after being embarrassed on several occasions in recent months by documents made public by Green. The Tories had been contacted by a party supporter working at the Home Office who wanted to pass on information.

In recent weeks, using the mole, Green has revealed illegal immigrants have been cleared to work as security guards at the House of Commons and the names of Labour MPs who opposed anti-terror laws.

Home Office permanent secretary Sir David Normington set up the inquiry and called in police to identify the source. On November 19, a 26-year-old junior official was arrested and suspended from duty.

Yesterday, officials confirmed ministers had been informed that the police had been called in. "Sir David told ministers that the police were now involved. But ministers were not informed about the arrests," said a Home Office spokesman.

The Home Office said that the Metropolitan Police informed Normington on Thursday that a search was to be conducted at Green's house and office.

Nine counter-terrorist officers – whose remit also includes breaches of official secrecy – subsequently detained Green at his home in Ashford, Kent, while another group searched his constituency and parliamentary office.

However, ministers insist they were not told about it.

Cameron said yesterday: "The Prime Minister has simply repeated that he 'had no prior knowledge' and this is 'a police matter'. Frankly, that's not good enough. The question is: does he think it is right for an MP who has apparently done nothing to breach our national security – and everything to inform the public of information they're entitled to know – to have his home and office searched by a dozen counter-terrorist police officers, his phone, BlackBerry and computers confiscated, and to be arrested and held for nine hours?"

Cameron also turned his fire on the Commons authorities for apparently "not thinking twice" about allowing officers to raid his immigration spokesman's office in parliament.

But Martin received the backing yesterday of former Father of the House and MP, Tam Dalyell, who himself was the recipient of leaked information in the 1980s about the sinking of the General Belgrano during the Falklands War.

Dalyell said: "Before people like (Liberal Democrat MP] Norman Baker and Douglas Carswell start scapegoating the Speaker, they would do well to wait to hear the statement which he will undoubtedly make to the House of Commons."

Meanwhile, Labour MPs insisted it was far-fetched to claim the Government had deliberately engineered Green's arrest, arguing that the creation of a "martyr" in Green was damaging Labour.

Glasgow South MP Tom Harris said: "There's no doubt this affair has caused Labour some serious political damage."

The affair has also sparked questions about the role of outgoing Metropolitan Police Commission Sir Ian Blair. He has complained about political interference from the Tories affecting his decision to resign.

Spilling the beans

The arrest of Damian Green has revived memories of political leaks.

Margaret Thatcher's press secretary, Bernard Ingham, was accused of complicity in the leaking of a letter from the Solicitor General designed to damage Michael Heseltine during the Westland affair.

No prosecutions were brought on that occasion, but two civil servants, Sarah Tisdall and Clive Ponting, were charged as a result of disclosing sensitive information about the arrival of cruise missiles on British soil, and the sinking of the Belgrano during the Falklands War respectively.

In the years leading up to the Second World War, the permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, Sir Robert Vansittart, was party to the leaking of information to, among others, Winston Churchill. This was aimed at undermining the appeasement policies of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.