Govt official accused of Navy ‘leak’

Press, 29 August 1984, Page 24

Govt official accused of Navy ‘leak’

NZPA-AFP London A Defence Ministry official charged under Britain’s Official Secrets Act is accused of “leaking” documents about the sinking of the Argentine cruiser Belgrano in the Falklands war, the “Observer” reported. He is Clive Ponting, head of a secretariat handling certain Royal Navy operations. The newspaper said he had told it, “My conscience is clear.” The Belgrano was sunk with the loss of 368 men in May, 1982, by a British submarine while outside the ship-exclusion zone declared by Britain around the Falkland Islands. Documents about the incident were passed anonymously to the Opposition Labour member of Parlia-

ment, Mr Tam Delyell, who has campaigned persistently for a full inquiry into the sinking of the Belgrano. He has voiced suspicions that it was torpedoed for political reasons, to thwart peace moves, rather than because it was a direct military threat to British forces. The leaked papers surfaced before a House of Commons select committee, which returned them to the Defence Ministry. The "Observer” said they contained recommendations to the Minister of Defence, Mr Michael Heseltine, to keep quiet, if questioned by members of Parliament about certain aspects of the naval rules of engagement in force when the decision to sink the Belgrano was taken.