My hell, by mandarin accused of leaking files that toppled our man in Washington
A CIVIL servant accused of leaking explosive diplomatic cables last night told how he was left ‘traumatised’ after being arrested by 14 armed police officers and investigated for almost two years under the Official Secrets Act.
The official, known by the pseudonym ‘Robert’ to protect his identity, was left living in a homeless shelter with heroin addicts after he was targeted by Operation Asperite – the Metropolitan Police’s investigation into the leak of the so-called Washington files to The Mail on Sunday.
This newspaper disclosed a string of bombshell cables and memos written by former US ambassador Lord Darroch. In them, he described then US President Donald Trump as ‘inept’, ‘insecure’ and ‘incompetent’. The story made headlines around the world and provoked Mr Trump to describe Lord Darroch, then Sir Kim, as a ‘pompous fool’ and ‘stupid guy’.
Robert, who worked for the Department for International Trade (DIT), denies leaking the documents and was never charged. On July 22, he was informed by the Met that no further action will be taken against him amid a lack of evidence, but the ordeal has taken an immense toll on him.
Counter-terror police stormed his flat just before dawn on October 13, 2020 – more than a year after our exposé – while he was recovering from cancer surgery.
‘It was highly traumatising as it was obviously meant to be,’ he said. ‘I recall being woken by a violent crash as the door and frame of the door were broken through... I have been in psychotherapy over the past year and a half as a result [of] trying to process the trauma that started on that day.’
At the time, Robert had opted out of NHS care and was receiving cancer treatment in the US. This proved impossible because of his strict bail conditions and for a period of five months he did not receive treatment. ‘I missed these appointments and the cancer was coming back because I was not finishing my treatment. They actually seriously damaged my health. The problem was I wasn’t in the NHS system. I said to them, “If you don’t let me go, I will die,”’
With no in come, he was forced to move out of his flat and ended up being cared for by a homeless charity. In desperation, he tried to fly to the US in January 2021 but was arrested at the border.
Robert is taking DIT to an employment tribunal and is planning to launch a civil case against the Government and the Met.
The Met said: ‘From the outset, officers have been open-minded about the circumstances and sought to follow the evidence wherever it has led. In October 2020, a man was arrested in London on suspicion of offences under the Official Secrets Act and Misconduct in Public Office. That man was further arrested in January 2021 on suspicion of breaching bail conditions. He has since been released with no further action.’ It said an internal investigation found ‘there was no misuse of powers by officers, or breaches of standards of professional behaviour’.
Lord Darroch resigned three days after The Mail on Sunday published its story about the cables in July 2019. We published further explosive claims that Mr Trump had abandoned the nuclear deal with Iran to spite Barack Obama.
A DIT spokesman said: ‘We don’t comment on security matters.’