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Cabinet under pressure
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor02.12.08
The fall-out from the Damian Green affair drew closer to Gordon Brown today as the Tories demanded to know what role the Cabinet Office played.
Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said Cabinet Office minister Liam Byrne should answer claims that his department instigated the Met probe.
Although the row has until now focused on the Home Office, ultimate authority for leak inquiries rests with Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell. Mr Byrne, who works directly alongside the Prime Minister in Downing Street, was a former immigration minister who was humiliated by the leaks exposed by the Tories.
Mr Grieve said: "We need to ask if the Cabinet Office have a role in this - particularly Mr Liam Byrne," he said.
The Beaconsfield MP added that the failure of communication between the police and the Home Office "might have been because of the Cabinet Office interference".
