Cabinet Secretary dragged into Edward Snowden row

[bemildred]

Source: Independent.UK

David Cameron instructed the Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood to contact The Guardian to spell out the serious consequences that could follow if it failed to hand over classified material received from Edward Snowden, it can be revealed.

Senior Whitehall sources confirmed to The Independent the Prime Minister’s central role in trying to limit revelations about UK and US intelligence operations contained in information the whistleblower received from the National Security Agency.

News of Mr Cameron’s direct intervention came as official Home Office and Scotland Yard accounts of the nine hour detention at Heathrow of the Brazilian partner of a Guardian investigative journalist were flatly contradicted by lawyers involved in the airport ordeal. According to the Metropolitan Police, David Miranda – whose partner Glenn Greenwald has led the reporting of stories linked to NSA material supplied by Mr Snowden – was offered legal representation during his questioning and a solicitor was in attendance.

The Home Office also claimed the detention was “legally and procedurally sound” and backed in full the Met’s account.



Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cabinet-secretary-dragged-into-edward-snowden-row-8777216.html

[cantbeserious]

1. White House knew Glenn Greenwald's partner David Miranda would be detained

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/19/world/europe/greenwald-partner-detained

(CNN) -- Glenn Greenwald, the reporter who broke the news about secret U.S. surveillance programs, said the authorities who took his partner into custody at London's Heathrow Airport "are going to regret what they did."

"I am going to write my stories a lot more aggressively now," the Guardian reporter told Brazil's Globo TV on Monday in Rio de Janeiro.

"I am going to publish many more documents now. I am going to publish a lot about England, too, I have a lot of documents about the espionage system in England. Now my focus is going to be that as well."

Greenwald's partner, 28-year-old David Miranda, was held for nearly nine hours. He was reportedly passing through the airport on his way home to Brazil after leaving Berlin. Authorities seized his laptop, phone, and other materials.

The White House knew the move was coming.

Snip ....

[itsrobert]

2. Greenwald = Drama Queen

Can you believe this guy? It's all about him.

[cantbeserious]

3. Ever More Character Assassination - The Article Is About The White House Not Greenwald

eom

[itsrobert]

4. LOL, the article is filled with temper tantrum quotes from Greenwald.

so it is about him.

[cantbeserious]

6. Ever, Ever More Character Assassination Since Greenwald Did Not Author The Article

eom

[itsrobert]

7. Really?

The paper he works for quoted him incorrectly?

[cantbeserious]

8. Ever, Ever, Ever More Character Assassination - Article Written By CNN

eom

[itsrobert]

10. not much of a defense

so I guess you can just call names. bye

[cantbeserious]

11. Ever, Ever, Ever, Ever More Character Assassination - Ignoring The Facts - Article Written By CNN

eom

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. Your entire contribution to this thread was to call names; no-one has called you a name

I'm glad to see you aren't going to post in the thread again. You were trying to make it suck.

[karynnj]

18. It's about BOTH

In fact, even though the title speaks of the WH - the article spends the first several paragraphs on Greenwald. (Almost suggesting the reporter and the headline writer had different ideas of the key meaning of the story)

[cantbeserious]

19. The Story Is Written By CNN About The White House And What The White House Knew

eom

[karynnj]

22. However, several paragraphs deal with Greenwald - and they happen to be the

first several paragraphs. As to it being written by "CNN" - of course it is I have no idea why you say that. My point is that it appears that the article's actual author -- and the editor who wrote the title - were not completely on the same wave length. Generally the lead paragraph matches the headline - here it doesn't.

[Wilms]

12. Any opinion on the OP?

[karynnj]

17. Not new news - from the beginning of this story, they said the US was given a "heads up"

Are you suggesting that the WH should have warned Britain NOT to seize the material or stop him? If so, why is there outrage when the US suggests that a Latin American country do or not do something? Is the UK less important?

I personally know people stopped at the border of various countries for 2 to 3 hours -- for far less reason. In this case, they may very well be right that he was carrying Snowden information that was illegally taken by Snowden. Some of which may have contained UK secrets. I can't imagine why the UK government had a problem with that.

It does seem that the interrogation was beyond what should have happened - even given what he might have carried.

[cantbeserious]

20. I Am Suggesting That The White House Is Acting In A Duplicitous Fashion

eom

[karynnj]

21. Where is the duplicity?

They have brought charges against Snowden and NOTHING suggests that they have NOT tried to dissuade the dissemination of the information. As to Miranda being stopped their original comment was simply that they had a "heads up" -- and that is consistent with what they are saying. Note that they are not complaining that it happened.

I assume you are ASSUMING that the US may have pushed the UK to stop him. I don't see any reason to assume this - the UK has its own reasons to stop him and they are no more reluctant than the US to hold people.

[idwiyo]

5. Didn't take long for BS to start unraveling.

...
Gwendolen Morgan, a solicitor at Bindmans who is representing Mr Miranda in challenging the legality of his detention, said: “It is incorrect that Mr Miranda was offered legal representation.

“When we were told by The Guardian [of the detention], Gavin Kendall from our legal department was sent to Heathrow. “He was persistently blocked by officials for a long period from gaining access to the room where the questioning was taking place. The detention lasted nine hours, the legal limit of Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act. Gavin finally gained access only during the last hour.”

Mr Kendall said that Mr Miranda’s request for a pen or pencil to write down details of the questions he was asked was repeatedly refused. He says he was also unclear about just who was questioning him.

The Home Office claim the questioning was “a Met-led operation” and involved six people. Scotland Yard stated it could not comment on who may or may not have been involved. However security sources contacted by The Independent admit MI6 officials could have been involved. Bindmans said this account did not surprise them. “It was unclear throughout just who exactly was doing the questioning,” said Ms Morgan. Mr Miranda’s legal team in London are preparing an injunction which will demand a judicial review of the way the Schedule 7 anti-terrorism law was used against him.

[Peace Patriot]

13. Yup, for 8 of the 9 nine hours he was WITHOUT LEGAL REPRESENTATION...

...and they wouldn't even allow him pencil and paper to write down their questions, and wasn't sure WHO was questioning him. They also barred his lawyer from the interrogation room, when the lawyer was finally able to locate him.

Thank you for quoting the relevant sections of the article!

[idwiyo]

9. K&R

[Kelvin Mace]

14. Did Cameron think this would not come out?

Did he think he could dispatch thugs to the newspaper in a scene straight out of Putin's Russia and no one would notice?

[bemildred]

16. I don't think that thinking had much to do with it. nt