BRITAIN:A British civil servant who leaked secret policy documents about the fight against terrorism yesterday walked free from court after charges against him were dropped.
Derek Pasquill (48) faced a jail term for passing the confidential foreign office papers to the Observer newspaper and New Statesman magazine.
Mr Pasquill said he wanted to expose what he believed was "dangerous Government policy" and now believes his actions have been vindicated. He sought to raise concerns about the engagement with what he saw as radical Islamic groups, as well as the US policy of "extraordinary rendition", where the US flies terror suspects to countries where they could face torture.
The civil servant was subjected to a 20-month investigation, which he described as a "very unpleasant ordeal".
But an Old Bailey judge was yesterday told that prosecutors had decided to drop the six charges of "making a damaging disclosure" that Mr Pasquill was facing under the Official Secrets Act. The court heard that minutes of a foreign office discussion about the impact of the leaks undermined the allegation that they were damaging.
Mark Ellison, prosecuting, said: "There is no longer a real prospect of conviction in this case." John Kampfner, editor of the New Statesman, hailed the decision as a "spectacular and astonishing victory" for freedom of the press.
He said a number of ministers had "privately acknowledged from the outset" that the disclosures had been in the public interest and largely responsible for changing government policy on extraordinary rendition and radical Islam.
Neil O'May, Mr Pasquill's solicitor, said: "The prosecution was a scandal. It was a case where the government was shooting the messenger." Defence barrister Julian Knowles told the court "questions should be asked" about why the minutes leading to the case being dropped had not emerged before.
He said there were "elements within the foreign and commonwealth office" that agreed the leak was in the public interest.
The Observer said in a statement that Mr Pasquill was "an honourable civil servant who stood up for the best liberal values of his country".
Martin Bright, the journalist to whom Mr Pasquill passed secret documents, described the foreign office's behaviour as "outrageous" and said the government was becoming increasingly "vindictive" about those who leaked information. The foreign office said the civil servant, who remains suspended on full pay, could now face internal disciplinary action.
Over a number of months in 2005 and 2006 Mr Pasquill leaked a number of documents, described by Mr Bright as a "journalistic goldmine".
These formed the basis for a series of articles by Mr Bright published in the Observer and the New Statesman as well as a think tank pamphlet.
The leaked documents covered topics such as "hearts and minds of Muslims", "engaging with Islamists", conversations between the home secretary and foreign secretary, "detainees" and Egypt's radical Muslim Brotherhood organisation.
Mr Pasquill said he was concerned about the government's relationship with the Muslim Council of Britain, whose moderate public image, he claimed, masked a more radical agenda.
It has since then shifted its policy to engage with a broader base of Muslim groups, he said.
He also said documents revealed that ministers "did not really have that much information about whether detainees were being rendered through UK airspace" although the practice was being denied at the time.
Mr Pasquill said it did not take him long to realise that these were matters of public interest and that he should pass them on.
He said his subsequent treatment had caused himself and family and friends "a lot of apprehension, anxiety, uncertainty and dismay".
"This has been a very unpleasant ordeal. Over a period of 20 months I have been arrested, suspended from my job, subject to a special branch investigation, on police bail and then charged," he said.
"I am relieved that I have now been completely vindicated in my actions in exposing dangerous Government policy and changing its priorities."