State Security (Hansard, 15 December 1986)

§ The Attorney-General

Details of proceedings undertaken under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 since 28 January 1985 set out in the manner of appendix II of the Franks report are as follows:

Section 2

(a) A civilian police employee offered confidential information from the PNC to a burglar alarm company. He was tried summarily and convicted. On appeal the Crown court upheld the conviction and a further appeal to Divisional court by way of case stated was dismissed in May 1986.
(b) A civil servant employed by the Ministry of Defence was charged with unauthorised disclosure to a Member of Parliament of certain documents in his possession. He was tried at the Central Criminal court and acquitted.
(c) A civil servant employed by the Home Office was charged with authorised disclosure of a document in his possession in his capacity as part of a team investigating alleged corruption in relation to commercial contracts. No evidence offered at trial.

Cases (b) and (c) above were listed as pending at the time of my answer to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) on 28 January 1985 at column 38.

(d) A solicitor alleged to have offered money to a police officer to disclose criminal intelligence information in relation to a client was charged with corruption and offences under section 2. Tried and acquitted after a retrial.
(e) A clerk employed in a local DHSS office imparted personal information about claims made by the husband of a local councillor to an agent of a rival political party. Pleaded guilty at Crown court. Sentenced to three months imprisonment suspended for 12 months.
(f) Four persons were prosecuted for having been concerned with the obtaining and copying of classified technical manuals to facilitate the identification of marine components. Their alleged purpose was to trade in such components with the Argentine navy. Three of the defendants were convicted and fined £400, sentenced to six months imprisonment and conditionally discharged respectively.

There are five prosecutions under section 2 of the 1911 Act presently pending before the court:

(i) Proceedings have now been instituted against the individual alleged to have procured the offence mentioned at (e) above.
(ii) Proceedings have been instituted against a former member of the Royal Military Police alleged to have retained classified documents and disclosed them to an unauthorised person.
(iii) Proceedings have been instituted against two police officers alleged to have obtained information about criminal records for unauthorised supply to a security consultant.
(iv) Proceedings have been instituted against a journalist alleged to have obtained a copy of police intelligence records relating to a known criminal.
(v) Proceedings have been instituted against two police officers alleged to have made unauthorised supply of information obtained from the police national computer about vehicle registration and criminal records.

Other Provisions The proceedings under section 1 of the Official Secrets Acts 1911 referred to in my written answer of 28 January 1985, against eight servicemen stationed in Cyprus resulted in the acquittal of all defendants. Two foreign agents were convicted of offences contrary to section 7 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 at the Central Criminal court on 10 July 1986. One person was charged with an offence contrary to section 7 of the 1920 Act but proceedings were withdrawn after I had declined to grant my fiat.