Friday, 26 April 2019

Who leaked from the UK's National Security Council?

The secret decision by the National Security Council, headed by Theresa May, to allow the Chinese company Huawei to provide limited 5G technology for the next-generation of telecommunications systems in the UK despite cncerns about security risks, took place when the prime minister is facing losing her job, the country is in political turmoil over Brexit and tens of thousands of people are protesting about lack of action over climate change. This is why someone from that meeting on Tuesday leaked or arranged to be leaked key details from the ministerial debate to the Daily Telegraph. On the face of it is a scandalous breach of confidentiality. Not that I'm blaming the Daily Telegraph for publishing the story. I would have done exactly the same if someone from the secret meeting had whispered stuff to me. But the leaker broke the most golden of rules and by revealing all to the newspaper has put his or her personal interests before national interests. The heads of the three intelligence services, MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, must be spitting mad. How can they trust the National Security Council ever again? Its ministerial membership consisted of the prime minister, the Chancellor Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, Trade Secretary Liam Fox, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt, deputy prime minister David Lidington, Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright and Business Secretary Greg Clark. The officials were Sir Mark Sedwill, Cabinet Secretary, plus the three heads of the intelligence services, Alex Younger of MI6, Andrew Parker of MI5 and Jeremy Fleming of GCHQ. All the focus is on the ministers. The Cabinet Secretary would NEVER leak, nor would the heads of the intelligence services. They live by secrecy every day of their lives. Some of the ministers present have already denied leaking the Huawei decision which, by the way, still remains unconfirmed by the Government. But let's speculate a scenario. One of the ministers gets back to his/her office and has a chat with his/her special political adviser in total confidence about the National Security Council meeting. The special adviser advises that even though the meeting was held in secret it would be in the public interest for the decision to be aired in public because of the enormous security implications involved. And also, if it was leaked which ministers were opposed to the decision by Theresa May to approve Huawei's participation in the UK's future telecommunications systems it would boost the leadership potential of those ministers. Ergo, a nod and a wink and bingo a phone call is made to the Daily Telegraph. I have no proof any of this happened but I do know the way Whitehall functions from years of working as a journalist, and nods and winks are all part of the political game. Ministers can deny they were involved but.......

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