Lord Darroch was a former British Ambassador to the United States. claim the British ambassador in Washington leaked intelligence to his alleged mistress.
Court documents obtained by The Telegraph allege a senior civil servant was arrested on suspicion of leaking diplomatic cables and his home was raided by counterterrorism police the day after Lord Darroch, the former British ambassador to the US, was warned that his alleged affair was being investigated. published by a tabloid newspaper.
A senior civil servant is suing two Cabinet ministers, Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly, who were nominal heads of departments at the time, alleging that his arrest «was part of a disinformation campaign.» to protect Lord Darroch and maintain diplomatic prestige.»
He also alleges that he was «maltreated to ensure that Lord Darroch's behavior is quietly and speedily forgotten», according to the details of the High Court suit. Lawyers for a civil servant claim he was «used as a scapegoat» after Lord Darroch «endangered… diplomatic relations» with the US.
This case threatens to blow up a very unpleasant episode in British-American relations . including the leak of Lord Darroch's diplomatic cables that were circulated in Whitehall.
It was also claimed that he had an affair with Michelle Kosinski, a CNN reporter. Ms Kosinski denies that she had a relationship with Lord Darroch and that he was a source of sensationalism while she was CNN's White House correspondent.
The High Court will begin a preliminary hearing next week in which government lawyers will look for more time to prepare their defense.
Next month, the government will argue that the Justice and Security Act of 2013 should be enacted to restrict access to classified material. If the government succeeds, then only a special counsel can study the material, and a civil servant and his legal team may never know what it is.
A law that can be used in civil cases is more often applied to cases related to terrorism.
If a High Court judge agrees to the request, the civil servant's lawyers will not even be able to see some of the evidence and other materials presented by the government in defense of the claim. Such a move would further provoke allegations of a cover-up.
'Totally inappropriate use'
David Davis, Conservative MP, said: «This is a completely inappropriate use of the Justice and Security Act.»
«When Parliament passed this law, MPs expected the state to use it to deal with real cases of espionage and terrorism rather than hiding potentially embarrassing stories involving diplomats and government officials.”
In a legal letter sent on May 19 to the government official's legal team, the government lawyer wrote: “I am enclosing a letter notifying the court that the defendants in the above case intend to file an application under section 6 of the Justice and Security Act. of the 2013 Act that a proceeding is a proceeding in which a closed substantive application may be filed with the court.”
The matter is very delicate. The saga began in July 2019 with the resignation of Lord Darroch after diplomatic cables were published in the Sunday paper that were highly critical of Donald Trump, the then President of the United States.
Lord Darroch suggested that the president «exudes uncertainty» and that his administration is «dysfunctional», «unpredictable», «factional», «clumsy and inept».
In response, Mr. — Mr. Trump described Lord Darroch as «a very stupid guy» and because their relationship had seriously deteriorated, Lord Darroch left his post.
message after it was revealed that he was highly critical of Donald Trump
The government announced an investigation into the leak and called the anti-terrorism police to find the mole.
The arrest of a government official under the Official Secrets Act was a horror to him. Court documents allege that “14 fully armed officers from the counter-terrorism unit broke into” the home of a government official in a raid at 5:50 a.m. on October 13, 2020 — 15 months after the Mail on Sunday first published details of the leaked information. cables. He was never charged.
A government official, whose name The Telegraph agreed not to name, indicates in his lawsuit that at the time he was «critically ill and recovering from cancer surgery with a postoperative infection what he tells his employers in the Department of International Relations.” Trade knew «but did not tell the police when they coordinated» his arrest.
According to the legal action, the NHS assessment revealed the behavior of senior civil servants in the Foreign Office and the then Foreign Office. International trade was «life-threatening.»
«The whole operation was violent, intimidating, humiliating and causing harm to health and property,» the statement said.
But the time of the arrest insisted on by a government official and his legal team, both suspicious and important.
After the revelation of the diplomatic cables in the summer of 2019, a new story about Lord Darroch was supposed to appear. This one threatened to be just as devastating. They were told that Lord Darroch was under investigation by US authorities for allegedly leaking confidential information to a CNN reporter who was said to be in a relationship with him.
Ms Kosinski, who likes Lord Darroch married, denies any such connection and denies ever receiving classified or sensitive intelligence from him.
Michel Kosinski denies having an affair with Lord Darroch. Credit: Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images
The day before the police ransacked the government official's home, The Sun, which published this article, approached Lord Darroch for «the right to respond» to the allegations The Sun planned to publish.
According to the statement, the government official's home was searched the very next day as part of Operation Asperit, a police investigation launched in July 2019 to investigate the original leak.
The civil servant has always claimed of his innocence and says that he believes his name was given to the police by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of International Trade.
The legal complaint states: “The police interrogated the plaintiff and asked him why services accuse him of leaking Kim Darroch's official confidential documents if he didn't.
“The plaintiff was investigated twice and the Crown Prosecution Service ruled on both occasions that the police failed to produce evidence that met the probative status of the full screening code set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.”
The day after the arrest – According to the statement, the police contacted The Sun newspaper and told the newspaper that the civil servant had been arrested.
“This was a deliberate interference with the freedom of the press,” the lawsuit says. The day after The Sun published its article, according to a statement, “The Defendants retaliated and informed the media that the Plaintiff had been arrested to divert attention from Lord Darroch. This story has gone viral around the world.»
Lord Darroch's alleged novel and leaked memoir
Lawyers for the civil servant, who deny any involvement in the leaked diplomatic cables, say that, unlike the investigation into their client, it is Lord Darroch's alleged relationship with the journalist that «raises national security issues that the British authorities should drop an investigation into.» .
Instead, lawyers argue, the former ambassador was rewarded with an appointment to the House of Lords when he left office.
The ministers — as appointed heads of the relevant government departments — have been sued for malpractice, effectively accusing officials and politicians of abusing their position in power.
Lord Darroch has never commented on allegations of a relationship with Mr. Joy Kosinski. In a Twitter post in October 2020, Ms. Kosinski said: “There is a lot that is being reported that is wrong and just plain false. The so-called leak investigation found no such leak. This means that for all the stories listed, this «confidential» information did not come from the former ambassador.
“Looks like I had good sources and did my job.” She denies any connection.
Paul Diamond, a civil servant's attorney, told The Telegraph: «Our position is that the government should not use national security as an excuse to withhold information and prevent public scrutiny.
«Protecting Kim Darroch, the government, and the civil service from public stigma does not justify hiding it all for reasons of national security.»
A call for 'maximum transparency'
Andrea Jenkins, a former minister, said: “It is very important that ministers do not overdo it to cover up potentially embarrassing information about diplomats and civil servants. The public and the press have the right to see the evidence in this case; we must be as transparent as possible in order to sort out any allegations that are being made.”
The case will be watched with interest in the US as Republicans believe the UK authorities were trying to undermine the Trump presidency and are concerned that US intelligence was leaked by an ally.
Mike Howell, who is running for the American conservative think tank Oversight Project The Heritage Foundation said: «Misusing intelligence and passing it on to the regime's media to overthrow Trump — we've seen this scheme before. The global left started this game the moment Trump descended those golden escalators.
“Darroch's name should be added to the long list of characters who have yet to be held accountable. Shedding light on this sordid case is the right thing for Congressional investigators.»
He added: «Unfortunately, the British government is keeping its hearings under wraps as people deserve to know if American Intelligence Secrets were once again sold in exchange for partisan gain.”
The Ministry of Business and Trade, which replaced the Ministry of International Trade, said it “did not wish to comment.”
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