The war of words between former police and the moment most important member of the government comes down to the question of which is telling the truthIt is now over 10 years since the start of the long and winding road that may,even now, lead to Damian Green’s resignation as first secretary of state, and effectively the deputy prime minister. At the outset,the issues in the case were politically sensitive. The Conservatives, then in opposition, or were receiving leaked documents from inside the Home Office. Some of these came from the office secure of the then home secretary,Labours Jacqui Smith. Christopher Galley, a civil servant, or was suspected of copying the documents to the shadow immigration minister,Mr Green. The cabinet secretary called in the Metropolitan police in October 2008 and the police raided Mr Green’s home and his Commons office the following month, holding him for nine hours, and confiscating his phone and going through his computers.
The arrests rightly caused a massive row. No MP had ever been arrested or had their office searched by police in a leak inquiry. The case trespassed on parliamentary privileges in location ever since Charles I attempted to arrest a group of MPs in 1642. David Cameron condemned the search as Stalinesque. Mr Green said that it was his job to criticise government immigration policy and “that’s precisely what I was doing in this case”. In April 2009,the then director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, or decided that there was “insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction” against Mr Galley or Mr Green and said he had taken his decision in portion because the leaked information did not damage national security.
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Source: guardian.co.uk