Supporters of the first British journalist to face criminal charges under the Official Secrets Act for 20 years have condemned the British government's "heavy-handed" pursuit of the case following the publication of a book on intelligence operations in Northern Ireland.
The case of Mr Tony Geraghty, an author and former defence correspondent for the Sunday Times, and his co-defendant, Mr Nigel Wylde, a former British army colonel, is due to return to Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London next month, where they will face charges under the 1989 Official Secrets Act.
The British Labour Party condemned the Act when it was in opposition.
The charges relate to the publication of "unauthorised" material in Mr Geraghty's book, The Irish War, published by HarperCollins last year, in which he details a sophisticated military surveillance programme covering up to a million people in Northern Ireland. The book also describes the use of computers by British military intelligence and the use of photography in compiling lists of vehicle registration plates.
Mr Geraghty has said that two computer systems in operation in Northern Ireland that are used by the intelligence agencies "provide total cover of a largely innocent population".
Before publication, Mr Geraghty refused a request by the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee, or D-notice Committee, to hand over his manuscript, fearing that to do so would jeopardise his sources.
The function of the D-notice Committee is to warn editors, journalists and authors before publication of material that it regards as security-sensitive or likely to endanger current security or intelligence operations. Following Mr Geraghty's refusal to hand over his manuscript, and the publication of his book, he was arrested and his files and computer were taken away by Ministry of Defence police.
Article 19, a London-based organisation that campaigns for freedom of information and expression, said yesterday that the British government's reaction to the case was "quite unacceptable" and was an attempt to "exercise a chilling effect". The organisation called for Britain's security and information laws to be overhauled to enable defendants to present a public interest defence.
"It also needs to entrench protection for journalists and their sources when they are bringing politically sensitive information into the public domain," a spokeswoman said.
The Ministry of Defence police said Mr Geraghty had been charged under Section 5 of the 1989 Official Secrets Act. The relevant section refers to the "unauthorised disclosure" of information provided by a former or serving member of the crown, which covers civil servants, government ministers and members of the armed forces.
Meanwhile, Mr Wylde faces a charge under Section 2 of the same Act, which refers to the unauthorised disclosure of information by a serving or former member of the crown.
No action has been taken to ban Mr Geraghty's book, but it is understood that publication of The Irish War in hardback is under threat. However, sources close to Mr Geraghty said yesterday they believed the book would be published in hardback later this year.