I wonder if FOX has this one.....
A GCHQ translator sacked for revealing a secret e-mail has been cleared of a charge under the Official Secrets Act.
Katharine Gun, 29, from Cheltenham, claimed the e-mail was from US spies asking British officers to tap phones of nations voting on war against Iraq.
She walked free on Wednesday when the prosecution offered no evidence.
Mrs Gun had always said she had acted in an effort to prevent the war, and outside court said: "I have no regrets and I would do it again."
Human rights group Liberty, who supported Mrs Gun throughout her trial, said it was possible the prosecution's decision followed political intervention.
There has been speculation the government was worried about the disclosure of secret documents during the trial, particularly the advice by Attorney General Lord Goldsmith.
I am absolutely overwhelmed and obviously delighted and just gobsmacked
Katharine Gun
Watch Katharine Gun's statement in full
But the attorney general's office told the BBC the decision to drop the charge had nothing to do with the Lord Goldsmith's advice to the government the legality of war.
Mrs Gun, who was sacked from GCHQ in June and charged on 13 November, thanked her family and friends for helping her through the case.
She said: "I am absolutely overwhelmed and obviously delighted and just gobsmacked."
The "leaked" memo from January last year reportedly said the National Security Agency had begun a "surge" in eavesdropping on UN Security Council countries about to vote on action in Iraq.
Officials from Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Bulgaria, Guinea and Pakistan all had their phones tapped in what the newspaper described as a "dirty tricks" operation.
She is alleged to have leaked it to The Observer newspaper which ran an article in March claiming GCHQ had been asked to help spy on the six countries, which were all key to the passing of a second UN resolution on Iraq.
'Political charges'
Shami Chakrabarti, of Liberty, said the decision to charge her in the first place had been political, with the attorney general, a political appointment, ultimately responsible.
She said: "These political charges should never have been brought.
"One wonders whether disclosure in this criminal trial might have been a little too embarassing."
The Liberal Democrats' foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell said: "The dropping of these charges avoids severe government embarrassment.
"It is possible the attorney general's legal advice might have been published at last. This is a government retreat.''
Mrs Gun pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, after which the prosecution announced it would not be going ahead with its case.
Mark Ellison, for the prosecution, said: "The prosecution offer no evidence against the defendant on this indictment as there is no longer sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.
"It would not be appropriate to go into the reasons for this decision."
No explanation
The judge, the Recorder of London Michael Hyam, recorded a formal verdict of not guilty.
The judge told Mrs Gun: "You are discharged."
The defence inquired why it took until Wednesday for the case to be dropped, but the prosecution offered no explanation.
They also want to know why news of the charges being dropped was apparently leaked to the Guardian newspaper last week.
Former spy David Shayler, jailed for revealing secrets, said a blanket of secrecy was used to protect intelligence matters that did not affect national security.
"If the intelligence services are going to do things that are illegal they have to expect people to whistleblow.
"When they are not protecting our security and they are infringing human rights, they break the law and we have a right to know that."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3485072.stm
A GCHQ translator sacked for revealing a secret e-mail has been cleared of a charge under the Official Secrets Act.
Katharine Gun, 29, from Cheltenham, claimed the e-mail was from US spies asking British officers to tap phones of nations voting on war against Iraq.
She walked free on Wednesday when the prosecution offered no evidence.
Mrs Gun had always said she had acted in an effort to prevent the war, and outside court said: "I have no regrets and I would do it again."
Human rights group Liberty, who supported Mrs Gun throughout her trial, said it was possible the prosecution's decision followed political intervention.
There has been speculation the government was worried about the disclosure of secret documents during the trial, particularly the advice by Attorney General Lord Goldsmith.
I am absolutely overwhelmed and obviously delighted and just gobsmacked
Katharine Gun
Watch Katharine Gun's statement in full
But the attorney general's office told the BBC the decision to drop the charge had nothing to do with the Lord Goldsmith's advice to the government the legality of war.
Mrs Gun, who was sacked from GCHQ in June and charged on 13 November, thanked her family and friends for helping her through the case.
She said: "I am absolutely overwhelmed and obviously delighted and just gobsmacked."
The "leaked" memo from January last year reportedly said the National Security Agency had begun a "surge" in eavesdropping on UN Security Council countries about to vote on action in Iraq.
Officials from Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Bulgaria, Guinea and Pakistan all had their phones tapped in what the newspaper described as a "dirty tricks" operation.
She is alleged to have leaked it to The Observer newspaper which ran an article in March claiming GCHQ had been asked to help spy on the six countries, which were all key to the passing of a second UN resolution on Iraq.
'Political charges'
Shami Chakrabarti, of Liberty, said the decision to charge her in the first place had been political, with the attorney general, a political appointment, ultimately responsible.
She said: "These political charges should never have been brought.
"One wonders whether disclosure in this criminal trial might have been a little too embarassing."
The Liberal Democrats' foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell said: "The dropping of these charges avoids severe government embarrassment.
"It is possible the attorney general's legal advice might have been published at last. This is a government retreat.''
Mrs Gun pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, after which the prosecution announced it would not be going ahead with its case.
Mark Ellison, for the prosecution, said: "The prosecution offer no evidence against the defendant on this indictment as there is no longer sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.
"It would not be appropriate to go into the reasons for this decision."
No explanation
The judge, the Recorder of London Michael Hyam, recorded a formal verdict of not guilty.
The judge told Mrs Gun: "You are discharged."
The defence inquired why it took until Wednesday for the case to be dropped, but the prosecution offered no explanation.
They also want to know why news of the charges being dropped was apparently leaked to the Guardian newspaper last week.
Former spy David Shayler, jailed for revealing secrets, said a blanket of secrecy was used to protect intelligence matters that did not affect national security.
"If the intelligence services are going to do things that are illegal they have to expect people to whistleblow.
"When they are not protecting our security and they are infringing human rights, they break the law and we have a right to know that."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3485072.stm
