Sharpe’s Opinion

Finally, we’re starting to get some of the spare details over the arrest of Damian Green MP, and the previously missing pieces of truth suggest that Damian Green was ‘running a spy’ within the Civil Service who was passing him politically motivated material – compromising the political neutrality. This seems to fit, and some are even suggesting that this acquits the police of any wrongdoing. There is, however, still plenty in this story to upset anyone who values democracy.

• Presumption of innocence: Damian Green hasn’t been charged with anything. If he was guilty of a chargeable offence, he should have already been charged. If the police were working on a suspicion, they should have arranged an interview with Mr Green, since he’s unlikely to try to flee. Arresting him seems to serve no purpose other than to frighten people who are leaking information from the government.

• Police ‘overreach’: the anti-terror police should not be storming into the House of Commons and demanding access to the private chambers of elected representatives of the people. Call it ‘parliamentary privilege’ if you will, but as Iain Dale pointed out, MP’s receive entirely legitimate private correspondence from their constituents and it is not the business of the police to inspect it without due cause.

• Party Political Police: none of the information leaked in this case presents any security risk to the country, and so far no suggestion has been made that Mr Green would have leaked information which could have presented a security risk to the country. The only information which has come to light through this entire sordid affair is information which causes at most an embarrassment to the Government. The police have no right to act as a party political enforcement agency.

• Government Incompetence/Lies: Either Jacqui Smith and Gordon Brown knew about the arrest beforehand (as Boris Johnson, Michael Martin and David Cameron all did) and did nothing to prevent it, which shows a scary ambivalence to the idea of arresting an opposition politician and means that they’ve been telling boldfaced lies to the public ever since; or they didn’t know, which suggests an alarming situation where the police see no reason to even inform the Home Secretary or the PRime Minister about their intention to arrest an elected Parliamentarian.

Because of all these things, I continue to believe the Damian Green affair casts the Government in a disgraceful light and I continue to have No Confidence in Her Majesty’s Government. The bottom line is this: somebody high up in either the police or the Government must resign over this. My bet is on Jacqui Smith.

That’s why this remains a big and important story.