Whiff of deniability at No 10 over Damian Green’s arrest

Tories are unsurprisingly incensed at the arrest of their shadow immigration minister Damian Green in connection with a series of leaks from the Home Office. The man himself is furious after spending nine hours with the boys in blue yesterday, while David Cameron, George Osborne and the former shadow home secretary David Davis have all piled in, describing Green's treatment variously as "Stalinesque" and "reminiscent of Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe".

If the timing had been different - which raises questions about why the arrest happened when it did, just as Parliament went into recess - Home Secretary Jacqui Smith would have been dragged to the Despatch Box on Monday to explain herself. But MPs, many of whom are outraged at what looks like an abuse of power, are on their mini-break and won't be back until Wednesday and the State Opening of Parliament.

Which is hugely ironic. For the arcane ceremony before the Queen's Speech is designed to remind the country of the very issue at stake here - the rights of MPs stretching back to 1642 when Charles I raided the Commons to arrest five members who hadn't toed the royal line over his wish to raise money to start a war on Scotland.

When Black Rod, sent from the Palace, bangs three times on the door of the Commons and has it slammed in his face, MPs are symbolically proclaiming their power over the Monarchy and their freedom of speech.

Intriguingly, while Green was interviewed by anti-terror officers from the Met, he was arrested and eventually bailed not under anti-terror legislation but under common law for "aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring misconduct in public office".

This is what enables Jacqui Smith to deny that she knew anything of the arrest before it happened. If Green had been charged under anti-terror laws, as the principal minister in charge of anti-terrorism Smith would have had to be kept informed.

The other key player denying any for-knowledge of the arrest is the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who, ironically, built his reputation in opposition by humiliating John Major's Conservative government with embarrassing leaks. The fact that David Cameron was told in advance and the PM was not is bound to raise suspicions that it was to ensure deniability at No 10.

Another politician who admits to having been informed in advance is Boris Johnson who as London Mayor he is in charge of the Met. Johnson is said to have expressed grave concerns to the acting Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson (the departing commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, was packing his desk - another interesting timing issue) and asked if he was sure Green simply couldn't simply be questioned without being arrested.

This is just one of the questions angry MPs will want answering next week. There will be pressure on the Speaker, Michael Martin, from all sides, with Labour MPs such as Bob Marshall Andrews and Andrew Mackinlay - staunch defenders of MPs' rights - likely to join Tories in demanding an explanation from Jacqui Smith.

As David Davis, who quit the Tory front bench to campaign against the Government's erosion of civil liberties, said on the BBC Radio Today programme this morning, Damian Green had only been "doing his job".

One backbencher told the Mole, "If something is leaked to me now - what am I supposed to do with it? This looks suspiciously like a new gag on whistleblowers."

THE MOLE: HOME OFFICE LEAKS

FIRST POSTED NOVEMBER 28, 2008