I'm torn, really torn by Damien Green

From the BBC News website

Normally, when I hear about a Tory politician getting arrested I laugh my socks off. When Jonathan Aitken was disarmed of his sword of truth and found it turned back on him, I laughed off not only my socks but my shoes, feet and the lower part of my left leg. When I heard that Damien Green had been arrested, I was sure he'd been involved in some dodgy dungeon party in the company of Max Mosely. I was mistaken.

Instead, Damien Green, the Conservatives' immigration spokesman was arrested so the police could question him about his part in leaks from the Home Office over the past few months. It seems that David Normington, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office was concerned that the leaks from the department were undermining its ability to function. (See the Permanent Secretary's statement here.)

There have long been problems with this department. It's the source of very many extremely unpopular and occasionally illiberal pieces of legislation. As a result, civil servants are occasionally faced with dealing with policies they can't support or come into possession of documents which contradict publicly stated policy. Now, ministers are entitled to a certain discretion from civil servants, and the mandarins who actually run the government depend on the loyalty and discretion of those in their departments in order for government to function. If a civil servant leaked every policy paper or sheaf of statistics which came across their desk, then nothing would ever actually get done.

In this case, Sir Humphrey in the form of David Normington has had a complete sense of humour failure. He said in his statement, "The Home Office has suffered a number of leaks of sensitive information over an extended period. Due to the nature of our business this was clearly a matter of serious concern, in that it risked undermining the effective operation of my department." He went on, "I therefore requested police assistance in trying to identify the sources of these leaks." The police arrested a junior civil servant on 19 November and there the matter really could have rested.

It's all got a bit political though. In arresting Damien Green, the police have assaulted Parliament itself. He wasn't doing anything other than holding the government to account. Mr Speaker Martin must have been involved in allowing the police officers into the Commons to effect their search of Damien Green's office. His position may become untenable. David Normington did not inform his political masters of what was going on. His job is probably at risk too. The Home Secretary really doesn't need these distractions. She'll probably need that stab vest again soon.

What is really at risk are our liberties. Parliament, as ineffective as it has been is still the guardian of our freedom. Our Members of Parliament have to be free to challenge the government and hold them to account for their words and actions. The arrest of Damien Green undermines that and it's not funny at all.