As Fraser says, one hopes that there is more to this Damian Green case than we currently know about. If not, it is a disgrace. It does make one wonder what kind of country we now live in.
Maybe I’ve been watching too much The Devil’s Whore, but Green’s arrest—and the search of his Commons Office—seems to be an affront to Parliamentary democracy. Green appears to have been exposing things that the public are entitled to know. After this one wonders if a new offence will be introduced of trying to hold the executive to account. Also given the stories that were apparently involved, I’m struggling to see what possible justification there is for the use of counter-terrorism police in this investigation and arrest. It is even more baffling that, according to the BBC, nine counter-terrorism officers were involved in the arrest; Green was hardly likely to do anything over than come quietly.
The fact that Boris Johnson was informed—and objected to—Green’s arrest in advance, suggests that government ministers might have known about this investigation and arrest in advance. If that was the case, it will make this case even more worrying.
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