British civil servant David Keogh has been sentenced to six months after being found guilty of breaching the Official Secrets Act for leaking a classified memo about a meeting between Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush in which the US president reportedly called for the bombing of AlJazeera TV’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar. The Daily Mirror newspaper reported that the memo showed Blair arguing against Bush’s suggestion, adding that its sources disagreed on whether it was serious. Blair said he had no information about any proposed US action against AlJazeera, and the White House called the claims “outlandish and inconceivable.” The document, marked “Secret-Personal,” was intended to be restricted to senior officials. The memo’s contents are considered so sensitive that much of the trial was heard behind closed doors. (AP, Daily Mail, May 11)
See our last posts on the UK, Iraq and press freedom in the Iraq war.
See also our last special report on US military attacks on the media.
