| 1978 | A former corporal in the intelligence corps knowingly passed on information relating to military and defence establishments to two journalists who were deliberately seeking to obtain secret information. Charges were also brought under section 1 but were withdrawn during the trial. They were all convicted under section 2. The former corporal was given a six month prison sentence suspended for two years. The two journalists were conditionally discharged for three years but ordered to contribute £2,500 towards the costs. |
| 1979 | A superintendent in the criminal intelligence branch of the Metropolitan Police communicated confidential papers of substantial intelligence value about two men suspected of involvement in international crime to a businessman interested in this material. The businessman concerned had died by the time the police officer was tried. The police officer was also charged with offences of corruption arising out of the same facts. He was convicted of wrongful communication of information at the central criminal court and fined £500. He was acquitted of the corruption offence. |
| A senior examiner in bankruptcy engaged in examining the affairs of a professional criminal allowed the criminal to see a confidential report and copy from it. The civil servant was prosecuted in the magistrates' court and was given a three month prison sentence suspended for one year and fined £500. | |
| 1980 | A civil servant in the Ministry of Defence was charged in connection with his retention of a number of cassette tapes which had confidential information encoded on them. The proceedings were withdrawn at the Crown court. |
| 1981 | An employee of the Department of Health and Social Security and a private detective were convicted summarily of communicating and retaining personal information about members of the public stored on the DHSS computer. Both defendants were ordered to undertake 180 hours of community service and pay £25 each towards the prosecution's costs. |
| An ex-detective who had been involved in the "Yorkshire Ripper" inquiry disclosed to a journalist confidential information that had come into his possession during the inquiry. He pleaded guilty before the magistrates and was fined £750 and ordered to pay £200 towards the prosecution's costs. |
| 1982 | An able seaman retained in his possession after his discharge a notebook containing confidential information, which he subsequently threatened to sell to an eastern bloc embassy. He was convicted at the central criminal court and senteced to three months' imprisonment. |
| A retired Army captain was prosecuted for failing to take reasonable care of secret orders for use in time of war or civil emergency. He was convicted in the Crown court and given a 12 month sentence suspended for two years. He was also convicted of offences of theft, for which he was fined. | |
| A second secretary at the British embassy in Tel Aviv communicated confidential information to an official in the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv. She pleaded guilty at the central criminal court and was given a nine month prison sentence suspended for two years. | |
| A CID officer passed details of criminal convictions to an inquiry agent, having obtained the details from the police national computer and criminal record office. The inquiry agent compiled reports for his clients containing this information. The inquiry agent pleaded guilty before the magistrates to five offences under section 2 and was fined a total of £500. The CID officer elected to be tried at the Crown court. The examining magistrate dismissed all but one of the summonses. The prosecution decided there was no merit in proceeding on the remaining summons and it was withdrawn. | |
| 1983 | An information officer employed by the Central Office of Information failed to take reasonable care of a number of confidential briefs prepared for the United Kingdom delegate attending a ministerial meeting in Brussels. The contents of these briefs subsequently appeared in the press. He pleaded guilty in the magistrates' court and was fined £500. |