UK Interior Minister Defends Arrest Of Opponent

The British interior minister on Sunday defended the arrest of a senior opposition politician and said police should be allowed to complete their investigation into suspected leaking of information without interference.

Damian Green, 52, the Conservative Party's immigration spokesman, was arrested on Thursday as part of an inquiry into leaks of government material by an interior ministry official which he then made public.

Green was questioned for nine hours at a London police station and counter-terrorism police searched his parliamentary offices. He was released without charge.

He was arrested on suspicion of "conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office and aiding and abetting, counselling or procuring misconduct in a public office".

Police said they acted after receiving a complaint from the government department in charge of the rules governing the conduct of government employees and ministers.

"The investigation into the alleged leak of confidential government material followed the receipt by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) of a complaint from the Cabinet Office," they said in a statement at the time.

"The decision to make today's arrest was taken solely by the MPS without any ministerial knowledge or approval."

Interior minister Jacqui Smith said parliamentarians did have the right to use information they receive to ensure government was accountable, but that police must be able to investigate leaks of sensitive information.

Britain's Home Office, or interior ministry, is responsible for handling police, immigration and counter-terrorism matters.

The alleged leaks at the centre of the investigation include revelations the Security Industry Authority granted licences to 5,000 illegal immigrants; an internal letter warning a recession could lead to a rise in crime; a list of potential Labour Party rebels in the vote on plans to increase the pre-charge terror detention limit to 42 days and that an illegal immigrant had been employed as a parliamentary cleaner, the BBC reported.

OPERATIONAL INDEPENDENCE

"It is not an investigation into whether or not opposition politicians used information they received to embarrass or hold to account the government," Smith told BBC television.

"This started as an investigation of a systematic series of leaks from a department that deals with some of the most sensitive and confidential information in government."

"...Police should have operational independence. They should be able to pursue those investigations in the way in which their professional judgment suggests."

"Any police investigation that involves a senior political figure or elected representative...is highly sensitive and decisions need to be taken very carefully about it," Smith said.

However, House of Commons Leader Harriet Harmon expressed concerns about the ramifications of police searching the offices of politicians and promised a review.

"We have got to be sure that whilst MPs are not above the law, that actually they are able to get on with their job without unwarranted interference by the law," she told Sky television.

"I think we should hold fire until after this (police) investigation and then we can look at the complete picture and the process by which police come into the House of Commons, search an MP's office, take the computers -- which obviously raises the question of confidential privileged information between MPs and constituents."

The government has said ministers had no prior knowledge the arrest was going to take place.