O'Connor–Keogh official secrets trial

For the former Queensland cricketer, see Leo O'Connor (cricketer).

In November 2005, Civil servant David Keogh was charged with offences under section 3, and parliamentary researcher Leo O'Connor under section 5, of the Official Secrets Act 1989 in the United Kingdom. Both men were of Northampton, England.^[1]

They appeared on November 29, 2005 in the Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London. They were remanded on bail, to return to the court on January 10 for a committal hearing.

The charges against the pair relate to the alleged leak of a document containing what purports to be a discussion between Tony Blair and George W. Bush at one point. It is alleged this document shows that Blair had to dissuade Bush from bombing Al Jazeera in Qatar.

On January 10, 2006, their defence lawyer was shown the secret Al Jazeera bombing memo and declared it posed no threat to national security. He vowed to have it made public by the court. The case would return to court on January 24. ^{[2] [3]}

The trial was due to begin on October 9, 2006. However, on that date the judge ruled the hearing should be in secret. It was then reported that the trial itself would begin on April 18, 2007. ^[4][5]

In arguing for the trial to remain secret, the government claimed the memo "could have a serious impact upon the international relations" of the UK. and that the "risk is of such magnitude to outweigh the interest of open public justice."

The trial began on April 18, 2007 in the Old Bailey court. Elaborate procedures were imposed to ensure secrecy, including asking barristers to remove their wigs when restricted information was being discussed.^[6] Few details have been published in the press.

On May 10, 2007, Keogh was found guilty on two counts of making a "damaging disclosure" by revealing the memo and was sentenced to 6 months in jail. He was also ordered to pay £5000 in costs to the prosecution. O'Connor was sentenced to 3 months in jail.^[7]

A second memo

Early reports suggested that the pair were actually being tried for leaking a different memo,^[8] called "Iraq: The Medium Term", which was published by The Times in 2004.^[9] The popular blog "BlairWatch" has suggested that this is the case and that the Al Jazeera bombing memo is actually unconnected with the case.^[10][11] This theory has not been corroborated by any main stream media source, and in fact, UK reporting bans limit discussion of the case in print.

See also

• Al Jazeera bombing memo

References

1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4447100.stm and http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article1695513.ece
2. ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard Norton-Taylor (January 11, 2006). "Lawyer denies leak of al-Jazeera bomb plot harmed security". London: Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1683576,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-01. 
3. ^ Cowell, Alan (January 11, 2006). "Alleged leakers appear in British court, Memo suggests Blair persuaded Bush not to bomb Al-Jazeera". New York Times. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/01/11/MNGKHGLEFB1.DTL. Retrieved 2007-08-01. 
4. ^ "Secrets case hearing in private". BBC News. October 9, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6033955.stm. Retrieved 2007-08-01. 
5. ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (October 13, 2006). "For their eyes only, New evidence clears up whether Bush sought to bomb al-Jazeera. But we are not allowed to hear it". London: Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1921328,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-01. 
6. ^ Evans, Michael (April 24, 2007). "‘Secrets leak’ civil servant opposed Iraq war". London: The Times. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article1695513.ece. Retrieved 2007-08-01. 
7. ^ "Secrets-leaker handed prison term". Reuters. May 10, 2007. http://uk.reuters.com/article/email/idUKL1060345320070510. Retrieved 2007-08-01. 
8. ^ "Two charged 'over Iraq memo leak'". BBC News. November 17, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4447100.stm. Retrieved 2007-08-01. 
9. ^ Cracknell, David (May 23, 2004). "British fears on US tactics are leaked". London: The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article430586.ece. Retrieved 2007-08-01. 
10. ^ "Confirmed: There are Two Memos". BlairWatch. November 28, 2005. http://www.blairwatch.co.uk/node/612. Retrieved 2007-08-01. 
11. ^ "The Two Memos - A Beginners Guide". BlairWatch. December 2, 2005. http://www.blairwatch.co.uk/node/625. Retrieved 2007-08-01. 

External links

• "Two charged over leak of Blair-Bush conversation on conflict". The Independent. 18 November 2005. http://iraqwar.mirror-world.ru/article/70566. 
• Norton-Taylor, Richard (November 23, 2005). "Legal gag on Bush-Blair war row". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1648590,00.html. 
• Norton-Taylor, Richard (November 30, 2005). "Researcher in Blair-Bush memo row 'shocked' at Official Secrets charge". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,1653656,00.html. 
• Norton-Taylor, Richard (January 11, 2006). "Lawyer denies leak of al-Jazeera bomb plot harmed security". London: The Guardian. http://politics.guardian.co.uk/media/story/0,12123,1683579,00.html. 
• "Memo leak would have upset allies, court told". London: The Guardian. April 25, 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2065290,00.html. Retrieved 2007-04-25.