Barney Vs the Poodle
And ere's me thinkin' that they banned Bearbaitin'! Gor blimey.
FEARS that fresh revelations about disputes between Tony Blair and George Bush over Iraq could damage Downing Street's relationship with the White House are behind the unprecedented threat to use the Official Secrets Act against national newspapers.
Senior MPs, civil servants and lawyers agreed on Wednesday that the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, had "read the riot act" to the British media because of political embarrassment caused by a sensitive leak of exchanges between the Prime Minister and the US President in the White House in April last year.
Lord Goldsmith acted after the Daily Mirror said a memo recorded a threat by Mr Bush to take "military action" against the Arab TV station al-Jazeera. Mr Blair reportedly replied that that would cause a big problem.
David Keogh, a former British Cabinet Office official, has been charged under the secrets act with sending the memo to Leo O'Connor, researcher to former Labour MP Tony Clarke. Mr Keogh and Mr O'Connor will appear before magistrates in Bow Street, London, next week.
The Bush-Blair meeting took place at a time when British officials, intelligence officers, and military commanders were outraged at the scale of the US assault on the Iraqi city of Fallujah. Pictures of the attack shown on al-Jazeera had infuriated US generals.
The British Government was also arguing with Washington about the number of extra British troops to be deployed in Iraq at a time when it was feared they would be endangered by what a separately leaked Foreign Office memo called "heavy-handed" American tactics. There was British anxiety that US bombing in civilian areas of Fallujah would unite Sunnis and Shiites against British forces.
When Mr Blair met Mr Bush in Washington, military advisers were urging Mr Blair to send extra forces only on British terms. General Sir Mike Jackson, head of the British Army, said while British troops had to fight with the Americans, "that does not mean we must be able to fight as the Americans".
Lawyer Andrew Nicol, a media law expert, said yesterday he was unaware of any case going to trial where a newspaper or a journalist had been prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act. He said Lord Goldsmith appeared to be trying to "put down a marker" to prevent further leaks or publication of further disclosures from the document already leaked.
Former British defence minister Peter Kilfoyle has tabled a House of Commons motion saying Mr Blair should publish the record of his discussion with Mr Bush.
■ Up to $US194 billion ($A263 billion) in Iraqi oil revenue is going to multinational oil companies under long-term contracts, and not the Iraqi people, a social and environmental group said yesterday.
In a report, the group known as Platform said oil multinationals would be paid between $US74 billion and $US194 billion, with rates of return of between 42 and 162 per cent under proposed production-sharing agreements.
FEARS that fresh revelations about disputes between Tony Blair and George Bush over Iraq could damage Downing Street's relationship with the White House are behind the unprecedented threat to use the Official Secrets Act against national newspapers.
Senior MPs, civil servants and lawyers agreed on Wednesday that the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, had "read the riot act" to the British media because of political embarrassment caused by a sensitive leak of exchanges between the Prime Minister and the US President in the White House in April last year.
Lord Goldsmith acted after the Daily Mirror said a memo recorded a threat by Mr Bush to take "military action" against the Arab TV station al-Jazeera. Mr Blair reportedly replied that that would cause a big problem.
David Keogh, a former British Cabinet Office official, has been charged under the secrets act with sending the memo to Leo O'Connor, researcher to former Labour MP Tony Clarke. Mr Keogh and Mr O'Connor will appear before magistrates in Bow Street, London, next week.
The Bush-Blair meeting took place at a time when British officials, intelligence officers, and military commanders were outraged at the scale of the US assault on the Iraqi city of Fallujah. Pictures of the attack shown on al-Jazeera had infuriated US generals.
The British Government was also arguing with Washington about the number of extra British troops to be deployed in Iraq at a time when it was feared they would be endangered by what a separately leaked Foreign Office memo called "heavy-handed" American tactics. There was British anxiety that US bombing in civilian areas of Fallujah would unite Sunnis and Shiites against British forces.
When Mr Blair met Mr Bush in Washington, military advisers were urging Mr Blair to send extra forces only on British terms. General Sir Mike Jackson, head of the British Army, said while British troops had to fight with the Americans, "that does not mean we must be able to fight as the Americans".
Lawyer Andrew Nicol, a media law expert, said yesterday he was unaware of any case going to trial where a newspaper or a journalist had been prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act. He said Lord Goldsmith appeared to be trying to "put down a marker" to prevent further leaks or publication of further disclosures from the document already leaked.
Former British defence minister Peter Kilfoyle has tabled a House of Commons motion saying Mr Blair should publish the record of his discussion with Mr Bush.
■ Up to $US194 billion ($A263 billion) in Iraqi oil revenue is going to multinational oil companies under long-term contracts, and not the Iraqi people, a social and environmental group said yesterday.
In a report, the group known as Platform said oil multinationals would be paid between $US74 billion and $US194 billion, with rates of return of between 42 and 162 per cent under proposed production-sharing agreements.
posted by professor rat at 6:25 AM
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