[Mb-civic] CBC News - ALLEGED THREAT BY BUSH TO BOMB AL-JAZEERA LEADS TO CHARGES IN BRITAIN

Tue Nov 29 16:11:27 PST 2005

This email has been sent to you by harry.sifton at sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
ALLEGED THREAT BY BUSH TO BOMB AL-JAZEERA LEADS TO CHARGES IN BRITAIN
WebPosted Tue Nov 29 17:30:42 2005

---Two British men have been charged with leaking a top secret government
document to a backbench MP, but no one, not even their lawyers, is being
allowed to see what is in the document.

        Civil servant David Keogh, 49, and former legislative researcher
        Leo O'Connor, 42, appeared in court on Tuesday to face charges
        under the Official Secrets Act.

        "So far as we're concerned, it needs to be disclosed because it's
        impossible to build a defence unless you know the case you're
        facing," said defence lawyer Neil Clark.

        Many people in Britain know, or think they know, what the secret
        document is. They believe it's a British government memo on a
        conversation between U.S. President George W. Bush and British
        Prime Minister Tony Blair, in April 2004.

        It is suspected that the document led to a front-page scoop in a
        London tabloid accusing Bush of apparently raised the
        possibility of bombing the headquarters in Qatar of Al-Jazeera,
        the Arabic all-news network. According to the report Blair
        talked him out of it.

"It certainly wasn't a joke, a sick joke or any type of joke," said Kevin
MaGuire, associate editor of the Daily Mirror.

        The government retaliated with a threat to prosecute under the
        Official Secrets Act if anything further was published. "The
        government is very keen to keep this memo under wraps, they don't
        want to see it published," said MaGuire.

        But Al-Jazeera does want to see the document published and has
        sent its director general to London to stir up publicity with
        meetings, interviews and a letter to Blair's office demanding
        more information. "We are seeking legal advice, and I'm going
        back to Doha to report to my directors and we're going to take
        this matter further and not rest until we find the truth about
        this whole issue," said Wadah Khamfar.

        The two civil servants face trial in the new year with the
        knowledge that when the government last staged such a trial two
        years ago, it dropped the charges, because otherwise it would
        have had to release more secret information in open court.