Gavin Williamson should face criminal probe, says Tom Watson
Gavin Williamson should face a criminal probe if he is found to be responsible for the leak about Chinese mobile phone giant Huawei, Tom Watson has said.
Labour's deputy leader, and MP for West Bromwich East, said leaking details from a National Security Council meeting was so serious the police should get involved.
South Staffordshire MP Mr Williamson was sacked as Defence Secretary on Wednesday over the leak but denies he was responsible.
He said he would welcome a police probe, which he believes would “absolutely exonerate” him of leaking details of the discussion on Huawei’s potential involvement in building the UK’s new 5G network.
Mr Watson said: "The Prime Minister doesn't believe him. She says there is compelling evidence to suggest that he is the leaker. He's obviously denying it.
"Now if he didn't do it that means that somebody else did it which is why I think a criminal inquiry will get to the facts of this case.
"That's why I think the logical extension of what the Prime Minister has alleged in her letter is - a criminal act has taken place and the police need to examine the facts.
"It's not just a 'he says, she says', it's the Prime Minister alleging the Defence Secretary has breached the Official Secrets Act which is a very serious allegation.
"He deserves the right to clear his name if he is innocent. So I think there needs to be an inquiry."
Police are unlikely to open a criminal investigation unless the case is referred to them by the Government, the country’s most senior officer has indicated.
But Theresa May’s effective deputy David Lidington made clear that the Government had no intention of referring the case to Scotland Yard, telling the House of Commons that the Prime Minister regarded it as “closed”.
Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East Pat McFadden, a former Government minister, said: "There are leaks out of the Government. Ministers or staff brief journalists but I think a leak from the National Security Council is particularly serious.
"The fact it has happened is an illustration of the extraordinary degree of the breakdown of collective discipline in the Government.
"It is particularly serious and the Prime Minister and the head of the civil service are right to take it so seriously.
"I can't know who is responsible but the letter from the Prime Minister is very direct. The letter talks about compelling evidence.
"He has every right to protest his innocence. The only way to prove it would be in court but no journalist would want to take the stand and say who their source is. It is a principle of journalism.
"If he has done it, it looks on the face of it like a breach of the Official Secrets Act which is a very serious matter and the Prime Minister will have to respond to that."
Asked whether Mr Williamson should face criminal action if found to be behind the leak, Mr McFadden said: "The law should be applied."
