MPS demand Labour leader’s MI5 files
MPS HAVE demanded Jeremy Corbyn seek the release of any documents held on him by British security services amid continued calls for him to be more transparent about meetings with a Communist spy.
The Labour leader is facing intense scrutiny over his links to Jan Sarkocy, a former Czechoslovakian agent, and there have also been calls for him to allow the release of a Stasi file that was reportedly opened when he visited East Germany in the Seventies.
Now Mr Corbyn is also being urged to ask MI5 to publish a file it opened on him over his links to the IRA.
The Labour leader was investigated over fears he could have been a threat to national security at a time when he was supporting convicted terrorists and campaigning for a unified Ireland.
A source close to the investigation confirmed that a file had been opened on him by the early Nineties. Tory MPS said the best way for Mr Corbyn to “dispel” any concerns about his past behaviour would be to apply for the release of any documents reportedly compiled by the Stasi and MI5 that relate to him. Mr Corbyn previously won plaudits for publishing his tax return in an attempt to be “open and honest” about his tax arrangements.
David Jones, the Conservative former Brexit minister, said: “I think that any individual who is presenting himself as a potential prime minister should do everything possible to dispel any doubt as to his fitness for the office.
“He published his tax return, so why not agree to have this Stasi file and this MI5 file released, too?”
Philip Davies, the Tory MP for Shipley, said: “If he is not embarrassed about anything he has done in the past, you ought to think that he would welcome that and he would authorise it.
“Everything would be above board and in the public domain and no one would be able to cast any aspersions. He would be able to bask and gloat accordingly.”
Individuals have the right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to request access to personal data relating to them held by public sector bodies.