The Home Office tried to silence Robert Jenrick after he said terror suspects had arrived in Britain on small boats.
In an article for The Telegraph last year, Mr Jenrick, the former immigration minister, claimed that individuals linked to Islamic State had “waltzed right in” to Britain across the Channel.
It can now be revealed that a fortnight later, the Home Office’s most senior civil servant reprimanded him over the disclosure.
Sir Matthew Rycroft, the department’s then permanent secretary, wrote to Mr Jenrick to tell him the information “should not have been made public” and warned him against “any further disclosure” of sensitive information from his time in government.
Just say it in Parliament instead.
Once it is Hansard it is in the public domain.
For extra impact, appear in the chamber naked.
What’s this classification “sensitive”? I’m aware of Restricted, Confidential, Secret which have clear security implications and have clear handling rules.
I’m guessing that should really be “politically sensitive” and means embarrassing to the government and civil service.
I can understand the convention that a new government doesn’t us information it finds out about the last government to score political points, but this is about his own time in government and anyway he’s only confirming what anyone with a functioning brain cell assumes.
BiND – the security classifications were changed a few years ago. Now they are OFFICIAL, OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE, SECRET, TOP SECRET. So likely the information released would have previously been classified as CONFIDENTIAL.
On the South Coast,
That makes sense, thanks.
That said, it does look like this information was over classified.
It’s only going to get worse isn’t it?
They will find ever more imaginative uses for the newly enacted ‘Online
SafetyCensorship Bill……And in other new legislation, I wonder how many white working class people in the UK are going to get hauled in because they posted something related to fake documents or people traffickers. Note, not the actual people supplying fake documents or those who are people traffickers, just some poor rube who posted about it……..
And what did he do with the letter? Screw it up and throw it in the bin..? Get it framed and hung in the toilet..?
Rather revealing – the blob thinks that Civil Servants should give orders to Ministers instead of vice versa.
Nigel must be rubbing his hands while re-re-re-reading the headline
Hilarious that the Establishment is terrified of the public finding out about things that they’re doing to us.
Rope and lamposts becoming more likely every week that passes…
It’s only going to get worse isn’t it?
They will find ever more imaginative uses for the newly enacted ‘Online Safety Censorship Bill……
Indeed. We know that the claim of protecting children is the excuse and not the reason because they’ve been at best indifferent to the plight of victims of rape gangs for 25 years or so and often complicit in the cover up.
The bill contains plenty of provisions for the SoS to implement censorship for political reasons under cover of child safety.
Even with the recent price cuts illegal migration isn’t cheap. So the sponsorship has to come from somewhere.
Jenrick gets reprimanded for “disclosure of sensitive information”. If you or I had said it, we’d have had our collars felt for “spreading dangerous misinformation”. Ain’t life grand?
Jonathan – I merely hope that Steve’s lion handler is going light on their daily feed at the moment. Wouldn’t want them to be lacking room in their tummies, poor things.
BiND, South Coast,
Not quite. CONFIDENTIAL got binned as it was a halfway house; something is either SECRET or it isn’t. SENSITIVE is akin to what used to be IN CONFIDENCE; more of a privacy, as opposed to security, marking.