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Photo triggered instant alarm in Whitehall
Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor9 Apr 2009
AN EXTRAORDINARY photograph received by the Evening Standard at lunchtime yesterday sparked the dramatic chain of events which led to the terror raids and the resignation of Met Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick.
The picture, which arrived at about 1.15pm, showed Mr Quick, Britain's anti-terrorist officer, carrying a secret briefing paper containing extensive details of an al Qaeda inspired plot into Downing Street.
The image was on open view to all the photographers outside No 10 and, with a deadline looming, a story on his gaffe was prepared for publication.
Aware there appeared to be a risk that a major anti-terrorist operation could be jeopardised, the Standard contacted a senior Whitehall source at 1.35pm to warn that a photograph of the confidential document was likely to be already circulating within the British and international media.
The call triggered immediate alarm, an admission that the planned operation was imminent and of extreme importance and a request to halt publication to allow the raids, which at that stage were planned for early today, to take place first. The Standard agreed.
Within minutes, amid near panic in Whitehall, the director general of MI5, Jonathan Evans, had become personally involved and urgent efforts initiated to prevent other media outlets from publishing the information and potentially wrecking a major operation.
Soon after, a D-notice — guidance issued by the Ministry of Defence which restricts publication of information on national security grounds — was placed on British media.
But the damage was already done because the photograph was also available via international news organisations so a decision to bring the raids forward was rapidly taken, despite the extra risks that might entail. The raids now appear to have been conducted successfully, but, despite this, Mr Quick's survival as Britain's top anti-terrorist officer was impossible.
While his supporters, including former Mayor Ken Livingstone, insist his mistake was a forgivable human error, the reality is that it could have had catastrophic consequences both for public safety and anti-terror efforts.
To begin with, the blunder meant that instead of the raids taking place when the suspects were at home sleeping — when the risk to the public from any clash with armed officers would be minimised — the arrests had to be carried out at a range of locations, including a university, where members of the public could have been put in danger.
Equally seriously, there is also the risk that if the suspects had got wind of the raids key evidence could have been destroyed before the operation began.
On top of all this, Mr Quick already faced controversy over his handling of the arrest of Tory MP Damian Green and his subsequent outburst in which he accused the Conservatives of deliberately smearing him.
Both these issues raised questions about his judgment and meant it was inconceivable he could survive under a future Conservative administration.
This morning it became clear he would not make it to the end of the day, never mind a general election.
Reader views (4)
It was far, far more than a "mistake". It was at least GROSS NEGLIGENCE, a major offence in this instance... and by a man charged with the entire security & safety of us all, at a giant salary.
He has shown himself to be incompetent in the highest degree. Why has he not been arrested and charged with this offence? Instead of that he gets £150,000 a year for sitting on his butt.
- Ben Adamson, New York, NY, 12/04/2009 14:37
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A boon for briefcase manufacturers and sellers everywhere! Quick will have a marvelous second career! [Camera pans to Quick, exiting his vehicle, papers afly. Next, Quick appears in a Coach-style shop, sporting a three-piece suit and a thin, brown leather attache case with gold combination lock : "Don't make the mistake I made. Protect your career and the national security: get a briefcase."]
Buy low, sell high!
- Jeff Sloan, San Francisco, California, USA, 11/04/2009 04:29
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Well said Sandy, the police enjoy being known as 'police OFFICERS' so the general public can quite rightly expect them to behave accordingly.
The photographer who took the picture, Steve Back of Political Pictures, had done the same thing last year when Housing Minister Caroline Flint revealed a confidential document in public while arriving at Number Ten.
He contacted Downing Street and informed them that a photographer with a powerful lenses could read a document in order for them to inform visitors to prevent future breaches of security. He is not a paparazzi, but a responsible, professional photographer who also works as a magistrate.
Bob Quick is fortunate that he was allowed to resign rather than face prosecution for negligence and incompetence!
- Manny Goldstein, London, UK, 10/04/2009 10:51
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This was not an unfortunate mistake, it was negligence. The man should have been charged under the Official Secrets Act, not permitted to simply resign with no other consequences whatsoever. As an officer in the Armed Forces I would have expected to be Charged under the OSA, or at the very least charged with gross negligence and court martialled for such a "mistake". Quite apart from what happened in this case, the loose papers could have been taken by a gust of wind, or been simply dropped along the way. Whatever happened to the ubiquitous OHMS briefcases? Or does OHMS really stand for "only holds my sandwiches"?
- Sandy, Ealing, UK, 09/04/2009 16:19
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