The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents

Posted on | December 3, 2013 | 30 Comments

OK, that’s not the headline at the Daily Mail, but their headlines are always so ponderously long, aren’t they?

We love Britain, insists Guardian editor
as he is accused by MPs of breaking the law
for leaking secrets which endangered UK spies

And then the stack of bullet-point subheads:

• Debate rages about dangers of Edward Snowden leaking US secrets
• MI6 said terror groups in Afghanistan and ‘closer to home’ are using leaks
• But Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger tells MPs only 1% of files published
• Insists the left-wing newspaper’s staff are ‘patriots’ who ‘loved this country’

Leaving aside the Daily Mail‘s weird approach to headlines, Louise Mensch points out that Parliament got the editor to admit what he had previously denied, that the Guardian shipped abroad the names of agents at Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters:

MPs today got Alan Rusbridger to admit a number of things he, and his paper had previously denied.
Firstly, that he shipped the names of GCHQ agents abroad to newspapers and bloggers. Mr. Rusbridger was reminded that this was a criminal offence, and said he had a public interest defence. He also, however, kept arguing that he hadn’t published any names, which rather blows up his public interest defence — it’s self-evident that you don’t need the names of intelligence agents to report on GCHQ spying, so why not redact them? . . .
Perhaps worst of all, Rusbridger confirmed my very worst suspicions, which were that he hadn’t even read through the top secret files before shipping them. He redacted no names; he redacted no operational details; he didn’t even read them. And by “he” I mean any employee of the Guardian. Nobody at that paper read the 58,000 documents through, not even once, before sharing them in bulk. . . .
Because no Guardian journalist even read the files, they do not know how many agents’ names are now out there.

Look on the bright side, Louise: The Guardian‘s losing $50 million a year, so maybe they’ll go bankrupt in the process.

 

Comments

30 Responses to “Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents”

  1. MrEvilMatt
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:08 pm

    Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents: OK, that’s not the headline at the Daily… http://t.co/yo63MS2MRf

  2. CHideout
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:08 pm

    Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents: OK, that’s not the headline at the Daily… http://t.co/tj2SuaZ6CF

  3. Lockestep1776
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:08 pm

    Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents: OK, that’s not the headline at the Daily… http://t.co/lvvadPC0kC

  4. Resista38176897
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:08 pm

    Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents: OK, that’s not the headline at the Daily… http://t.co/7Dj60UvnFo

  5. Citzcom
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:08 pm

    Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents: OK, that’s not the headline at the Daily… http://t.co/8dDPX67nBQ

  6. jwbrown1969
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:08 pm

    Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents: OK, that’s not the headline at the Daily… http://t.co/npvRtTgmOL

  7. ECHackett
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:10 pm

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents http://t.co/2tJlAh3jAa #TCOT

  8. rsmccain
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:10 pm

    Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents http://t.co/40q3mJUDuT Hat-tip @LouiseMensch cc @LegInsurrection #tcot

  9. LouiseMensch
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:11 pm

    RT @rsmccain: Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents http://t.co/40q3mJUDuT Hat-tip @LouiseMensch cc @LegIns…

  10. AmPowerBlog
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:12 pm

    RT @rsmccain: Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents http://t.co/40q3mJUDuT Hat-tip @LouiseMensch cc @LegIns…

  11. iKyle1972
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:23 pm

    RT @rsmccain: Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents http://t.co/40q3mJUDuT Hat-tip @LouiseMensch cc @LegIns…

  12. 1rh
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:23 pm

    RT @rsmccain: Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents http://t.co/40q3mJUDuT Hat-tip @LouiseMensch cc @LegIns…

  13. JoyKeller1
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:24 pm

    Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents http://t.co/W91173dhVF

  14. DCAficionado
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:27 pm

    RT @rsmccain: Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents http://t.co/40q3mJUDuT Hat-tip @LouiseMensch cc @LegIns…

  15. iaskmaie
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:30 pm

    “my very worst suspicions, which were that he hadn’t even read through the top secret files before shipping them”

    http://t.co/ISdLYSlROW

  16. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 6:41 pm

    You have to break some eggs to make an omelette. Or something like that.

  17. Cube
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 7:27 pm

    When any Leftist says they are patriots or love their country, they are LYING.

  18. Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents | Dead Citizen's Rights Society
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 8:10 pm

    […] Read the rest … […]

  19. Bob Belvedere
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 8:40 pm

    The Tower’s too good for those rat bastards.

    Bring back drawing and quartering.

  20. BobBelvedere
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 8:40 pm

    Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents http://t.co/OB0bWt5MR2 by @rsmccain

  21. rsmccain
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 8:41 pm

    RT @BobBelvedere: Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents http://t.co/OB0bWt5MR2 by @rsmccain

  22. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 9:03 pm

    I would say removal, but hasn’t Australia suffered enough?

  23. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 9:05 pm

    Actually not. Their “country” is the proletarian class struggle, or gender equality, or Gaia worship.

  24. Zohydro
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 9:13 pm

    If they had a shred of honour left, they’d take that walk at Beachy Head… at night… without a torch…

  25. Zohydro
    December 3rd, 2013 @ 9:15 pm

    Debtors, thieves, and marsupials… I’d say they’ve had enough!

  26. Alessandra
    December 4th, 2013 @ 1:07 am

    Secret laws, secret courts, secret police, secret controls… what a lovely idea for a democracy!

  27. NeoWayland
    December 4th, 2013 @ 1:46 am

    Okay, the situation is a little more clear cut in the US. But there’s still an important question here.

    If your government breaks the law, is it illegal to call them on it by any means you can?

  28. Bob Dylan’s ‘Hate Speech’ Charge | Regular Right Guy
    December 4th, 2013 @ 3:45 am

    […] Anarchy in the UK: Guardian Editor Admits Endangering British Agents […]

  29. Zohydro
    December 4th, 2013 @ 8:40 am

    Now coming to a constitutional republic near you!

  30. wuuren
    December 5th, 2013 @ 8:08 am