FOREIGN Secretary Boris Johnson has claimed Damian Green was sacked as First Secretary after a “vendetta” by police who revealed pornography had been found on the MP’s computer nine years ago.
Former assistant commissioner, Bob Quick and former detective constable, Neil Lewis, have been warned they face possible prosecution if found to have breached data protection laws by the information watchdog.
It came as a Tory backlash following Mr Green’s sacking on Wednesday night grew. He falsely claimed he knew nothing about the discovery of the material during the 2008 raid on his Commons office.
A Whitehall investigation found Prime Minister Theresa May’s de-factor deputy had committed breaches of the ministerial code with those recent two statements.
Mrs May yesterday called for an investigation into the release of the confidential details of the police probe saying it needs to be “properly” looked at.
Arriving in Moscow last night, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson went further in criticising the police officers’ behaviour.
Mr Johnson described Mr Green as a “fine public servant who had done a great job”. He added: “He agreed that he had broken the ministerial code so the result was inevitable.
“But I think it was a bit whiffy, frankly, this business with whatever happened with the information from his computer.
“I don’t quite see why it was brought into the public domain in the way it was. I think it needs to be investigated further, as the Prime Minister was saying.
“It had the slight feeling of a vendetta.”
Earlier, Conservative MP Chris Philp told the BBC: “I think they [the two officers] should be investigated for misconduct in public office. That is a criminal offence.
“What they have done is completely wrong. It undermines trust in the police. How can any of us trust giving information to the police if senior officers leak in this way?”
Former minister Andrew Mitchell, who resigned as chief whip in 2012 after a row over claims he called an officer a “pleb” in Downing Street, added: “These two admitted breaches of the ministerial code are dwarfed by the extraordinary behaviour of the police, which fortunately is now under investigation by the proper authorities.”
Speaking in Warsaw, Mrs May said: “I share the concerns that have been raised across the political spectrum about comments that were made by a former police officer and I expect that issue to be properly investigated, to be taken seriously and to be properly looked at.”
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick told the London Assembly that, after seeking advice from a QC, Scotland Yard had decided the Information Commissioner’s Office was the right body to take the inquiry forward into the officers’ conduct.
She added: “I have a very strong view that the responsibility that goes with being a police officer or a member of police staff is very clear in relation to people’s personal information.
“Every day we all come into contact with highly confidential and highly personal information in relation to investigations and other interactions. It is vital that the public trust us to do our absolute best to safeguard that information.”
Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said she would look at whether the individuals concerned had “acted unlawfully by retaining or disclosing personal data”.
She said: “These are serious allegations and we are investigating to determine whether the law has been broken and what further action is necessary including potential criminal prosecution.”
Under the Data Protection Act 1998, anyone who is prosecuted and found guilty could face an unlimited fine.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was clear Mr Green had “lied” in his two statements and it was right that Cabinet ministers were held to the “very highest standards of conduct”.
“On this occasion, very, very sadly and I know with a very heavy heart, the Prime Minister took the decision that she had to. I am sure that she didn’t want him to go,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Downing Street said it was a matter for Mr Green whether he took a ministerial severance payoff of nearly £17,000 or not. It would be on top of his MP’s salary of £74,962 a year.
In Wednesday’s resignation statement, the former minister continued to deny “unfounded and deeply hurtful” claims that he downloaded or viewed the material found on his computer.
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