(if you don't remember, here's the original story from March:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,905936,00.html )
well the woman from GCHQ - Katharine Gun - who leaked the memo has today been charged under the Official Secrets Act. She has been granted bail & will appear in court at the end of the month (I forget the exact date). Liberty is representing her & today they issued the following press release:
Liberty is acting for Katharine Gun, a former GCHQ civil servant who has today been charged with offences under the Official Secrets Act relating to public interest disclosures allegedly made in the run up to the Iraq War.
Katharine said:
"I worked for GCHQ as a translator until June 2003. I have been charged with offences under the Official Secrets Act. Any disclosures that may have been made were justified on the following grounds:
- because they exposed serious illegality and wrongdoing on the part of the US Government who attempted to subvert our own security services and
- to prevent wide-scale death and casualties among ordinary Iraqi people and UK forces in the course of an illegal war
No-one has suggested (nor could they), that any payment was sought or given for any alleged disclosures. I have only ever followed my conscience
Notes for editors:
This case is likely to put the legality of the Iraq War on trial.
The Attorney General advised on the legality of the war. This advice has yet to be put into the public domain but has been called into question by leading QCs on all sides of the political spectrum.
The same Attorney General personally consented to this prosecution.
It is clear that the Government must be uncertain about the wisdom of this prosecution. It has taken 6 months to decide to proceed to charge.