LONDON
Since taking the government reins in 2016, British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has been rocked by a series of Cabinet resignations over Brexit issues, but her sacking the country’s defense secretary Wednesday over leaks from the U.K.’s top security organization has added more scrutiny to the security of information shared by Britain’s allies.
The unprecedented dismissal of Gavin Williamson from one of the country’s most sensitive offices came on Wednesday with a short statement from Downing Street after Williamson refused to step down.
The incident emerged after reports by a British newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, of what was discussed during a National Security Council (NCS) meeting – a classified gathering of top ministers who talk about sensitive security matters.
The Daily Telegraph reported on May’s decision about the involvement of Huawei, a Chinese telecom, in building Britain’s 5G mobile network, including how she overruled some ministers’ reservations over a contract with the firm.
After the report over May’s green light to Huawei – a confidential decision made at the NSC – U.S. authorities, who have opposed China’s involvement in U.K. telecommunications, threatened their British counterparts with withholding intelligence if the Chinese firm was brought in.
U.S. officials have voiced their concerns over Huawei’s involvement in the U.K.'s next-generation 5G mobile network, claiming the company is “not a trusted vendor” and so any use of it in U.K. networks would constitute a security risk, according to Robert Strayer, a deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. State Department.
Following the leak, Strayer said if Huawei technology was used by the U.K. that Washington would have to "reassess the ability for us to share information and be interconnected.”
Britain's intelligence agencies, however, believe that any risk from Huawei could be contained, and their assessments are believed to have played a role in May's decision that it can be contracted as a "non-core" supplier in 5G.
The matter, following the leaks over the controversial decision by a tabloid, quickly became a serious but played-down security matter for the U.K., not necessarily about what information was leaked but where it was leaked from, resulting in launch of the most serious leak inquiry in decades.
The NSC, after all, is the top organization where the prime minister and line ministries share, evaluate, and process sensitive information and a leak, in any form, is not acceptable at any level.
11-minute phone call
May sacked Williamson after an inquiry into the leak found that he had made a 11-minute call to Steven Swinford, a Daily Telegraph reporter, on the day of the NSC meeting dealing with the 5G network.
The inquiry looked into whether any other members of the council had been responsible, but concluded that it was Williamson who leaked the content of talks during the meeting.
“The prime minister thanks all members of the National Security Council for their full cooperation and candour during the investigation and considers the matter closed,” the government said at the end of the statement sacking the minister.
The inquiry “has been conducted fairly, with the full cooperation of other NSC attendees,” May said in a letter to Williamson.
She said: “They have answered all questions, engaged properly, provided as much information as possible to assist with the investigation, and encouraged their staff to do the same.
She pointedly added: “Your conduct has not been of the same standard as others.”
“In our meeting, I put to you the latest information from the investigation, which provides compelling evidence suggesting your responsibility for the unauthorised disclosure. No other credible version of events to explain this leak has been identified,” she wrote.
Protesting innocence
Williamson, however, protested his innocence into any leaks from the NSC meeting, claiming that he is the victim of a “kangaroo court.”
He told Sky News that the leak inquiry, overseen by Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, had been “a witch hunt from the start.”
In a letter to May, Williamson said he was "confident" that a "thorough and formal inquiry" would have "vindicated" his position.
"I appreciate you offering me the option to resign, but to resign would have been to accept that I, my civil servants, my military advisers or my staff were responsible: this was not the case," he said.
Calls for police inquiry
Various British politicians on Thursday issued calls for a police inquiry into the serious leak and dismissal, but the government said it would not be necessary, as the prime minister considers the matter “closed.”
Taking questions from British lawmakers in the House of Commons on Thursday, David Lidington, the de facto deputy prime minister and Cabinet Office minister, said it was not considered necessary to refer the matter to the police.
He said the ministers would "co-operate fully should the police themselves consider an investigation necessary.”
He said Williamson had not been accused of any criminal offense, but had lost the confidence of the prime minister.
Any disclosure of official information relating to security and intelligence by a Crown servant, including ministers, is considered illegal under the country’s 1998 Official Secrets Act.
Williamson was appointed defense secretary in November 2017, after Sir Michael Fallon resigned from the government amid a growing sexual harassment scandal surrounding Westminster.
He has been a Conservative MP for South Staffordshire since 2010 and served as chief whip for Theresa May’s Brexit government between July 2016 and November 2017.
