DPP clears Damian Green of all charges

Damian Green, the Tory MP who was arrested in his office at the House of Commons last year amidst allegations that he had masterminded a number of Home Office leaks, will not face prosecution. Nor will Christopher Galley, the civil servant Green (pictured) was said to have groomed in order to get the information.

In a statement this morning, Keir Starmer, the DPP, said that the leaks - including information about the pre-Budget report and illegal immigrants working at the Commons - was not secret or influencing national security. He added that it did not expose anyone to risk of injury or death, much of the information was known to people outside the civil service and "moreover some were matters of legitimate public interest".

Starmer concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Galley for misconduct in public office, and Green for aiding and abetting him and conspiring to cause misconduct in a public office.

The pair were arrested in November in connection with a series of embarrassing leaks of confidential Government papers. This was followed by raids on Green's House of Commons office and home - acts which caused outrage in Westminster.

Green's solicitor said that the MP was "delighted" with the outcome and urged police "to learn lessons" from the affair. He had always emphatically denied any wrongdoing, insisting he was just doing his job.

The conclusion of the enquiry will be embarrassing for a number of parties. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith originally defended the decision to call in the police. The DPP's report also leaves Michael Martin, the Speaker in the House of Commons, facing criticism for failing to prevent the police search of Green's office and computers. His officials gave detectives permission when they could have insisted on a warrant.

The police were called in after Sir David Normington, the Home Office permanent secretary, widened an original leak inquiry and gave permission for the Cabinet Office to write to Scotland Yard.However, the report, by the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, found there was a "clear mismatch" between the sort of material Sir David suspected had been leaked from his department and the claims in the letter to police over the threat to national security.