GAVIN Williamson could be investigated by police after he was sacked from his ministerial post and a top-secret government body for leaking confidential information.
The former defence secretary continued to protest his innocence yesterday, swearing on his children’s lives that he was not responsible for telling the Telegraph about government plans to allow Chinese telecoms firm Huawei be involved in the UK’s 5G network, discussed at a National Security Council meeting.
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Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, said the force would “look at any complaint we may get”.
But she said the formal process to investigate the leak would need to involve a referral from the Cabinet Office.
Dick said any official secrets would be owned by them and they would hold any evidence relating to them.
“It is sitting in the Government. We as the police when considering whether there is an appropriate criminal investigation or not will have to be party to that material. At the present time we are not in possession.”
Theresa May had attempted to draw a line under the affair.
Answering an urgent question in the Commons on the row, the Prime Minister’s de-facto deputy David Lidington told MPs: “The prime minister has said she now considers that this matter has been closed and the Cabinet Secretary does not consider it necessary to refer it to the police.”
Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, said that was not a decision for the government.
“In response to receiving the most brutal sacking I can think of, [Williamson] has protested his innocence. Therefore this matter cannot be, as the prime minister says, closed.
“The essential point here is the Prime Minister has sacked the secretary of state for defence because she believes there is compelling evidence that he has committed a crime. But despite that, she does not believe he should face a criminal investigation – where is the justice in that?
“In what world is it acceptable that the Prime Minister should be the arbiter of whether a politician she believes is guilty of criminal conduct in office should face a criminal investigation?”
The SNP’s Stewart McDonald agreed: “Fair play to the Prime Minister for acting as swiftly as she did, but I am afraid that it is not in her gift to say that the matter is closed.”
He called for Williamson to be kicked out of the Tories and to have his CBE removed.
Allies of the ousted minister intensified their attack on Mark Sedwill, the civil servant who led the probe into the leak.
Peter Bone, the Tory MP for Wellingborough, said: “The former secretary of state has said that, on the lives of his children, he did not leak the information.
“This seems to have been a kangaroo court reaching a decision in secret which we have no evidence to base any decision on.”
Fellow Tory MP Desmond Swayne said: “Outside this house [Williamson] is being called a liar. And inside this house a number of honourable members have implied as much. Natural justice demands that the evidence be produced so that his reputation can be salvaged or utterly destroyed, doesn’t it?”
Lord Macdonald of River Glaven, a former director of public prosecutions, said Williamson could invite police to investigate his case, although it was unlikely.
He told the BBC’s World At One: “What they seem to be saying is this is a breach of the ministerial code as though that precludes the possibility of a criminal offence.
“Most criminal offences committed by ministers would clearly be breaches of the ministerial code, these two things are not mutually exclusive.
“He has used some very colourful language but it’s fairly unusual for people to turn themselves in to the police and invite the police to investigate them and I wouldn’t predict at this stage that’s something he’s likely to do.”
It was revealed that Williamson will remain a member of the privy council and will receive a one-off redundancy payment of around £17,000.
Labour MP David Lammy tweeted: “Gavin Williamson was fired by Theresa May because she believes there’s compelling evidence he leaked what may have been official secrets.
“Instead of a £17,000 golden goodbye, why is there no criminal investigation?”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called Williamson “selfish” and condemned the “reprehensible” security leak. Answering a question in Holyrood yesterday. the First Minister said it was “a sign of the complete dysfunction at the heart of the UK Government”.
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