Boris Johnson joins defense of press
Boris Johnson has come out in defense of the right of the press to publish leaked diplomatic dispatches sent by the former British ambassador to the US Sir Kim Darroch, saying it would amount to “an infringement on press freedom and have a chilling effect on the public debate”.
Johnson criticized the police over a warning to journalists that they could face prosecution if they publish any further leaked cables.
“It cannot conceivably be right that newspapers or any other media organization publishing such material face prosecution,” he added
“In my view, there is no threat to national security implied in the release of this material. It is embarrassing, but it is not a threat to national security.
It came after Hunt, the foreign secretary, who is battling head to head with Johnson to be the next Conservative prime minister, said he would “defend to the hilt” the right of the press to publish the leaks.
Hunt wrote on Twitter: “These leaks damaged UK/US relations and cost a loyal ambassador his job, so the person responsible must be held fully to account.
The Metropolitan Police has launched a criminal investigation into the leak of the messages, which were sent to the Mail on Sunday.
George Osborne and other editors accused Scotland Yard of encroaching on press freedom. The inquiry by the Met counter-terrorism command, which is responsible for investigating breaches of the Official Secrets Act, was announced in a statement attributed to the assistant commissioner Neil Basu.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday, Fallon welcomed the Met investigation, describing the leak as a “clear breach of the Official Secrets Act” and “damaging to diplomatic efforts”.
He added: “As soon as we find who did it, we should have them investigated and prosecuted.” Fallon said the advice to newspapers about not publishing the material was “quite logical”.
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