David Cameron instructed Britain’s top civil servant to put pressure on the Guardian to destroy classified data it had obtained from whistleblower Edward Snowden.
On Wednesday a spokesman for the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he thought it was “reasonable” for Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood “to request that the Guardian destroyed data that would represent a serious threat to national security if it was to fall into the wrong hands”.
He said this was a better approach than legal action and would “protect the Guardian’s freedom to publish, whilst taking the necessary steps to safeguard security”.
Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger has said he was forced to destroy computer hard drives after a conversation with “a very senior official claiming to represent the views of the prime minister”.
The hard drives contained information Edward Snowden had obtained while he was working at the US National Security Agency.
The intervention ordered by the prime minister came to light following the detention at Heathrow airport under terror laws of David Miranda, partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, who has worked with Mr Snowden on a series of exposes about secret US surveillance programmes (Messrs Greenwald and Miranda are pictured above).
The actions of the cabinet secretary are unprecedented and show that this issue has reached the highest levels of government. Keith Vaz, home affairs committee
The government was aware Mr Miranda could be detained before the police approached him on Sunday as he was changing planes on a journey from Berlin to his home in Brazil.
He claimed he was held for nine hours by agents, who questioned him about his “entire life” and took his “computer, video game, mobile phone, my memory card – everything”.
Home Secretary Theresa May told BBC Radio 4’s The World At One programme it was right that senior members of the government had been involved.
She said: “Issues of national security are rightly addressed at an appropriate level within government. I do not find it surprising somebody at a very senior level within government should be involved in this particular issue.
“I think it is right and proper the government had those discussions with the Guardian, that the action that was taken was taken.
“If government believes information that could be of help to terrorists is potentially being held insecurely, could fall into the wrong hands, I think it is right the government should act.”
Keith Vaz, Labour chairman of the home affairs select committee, called on Mr Cameron to make a “full statement” to parliament on the day it returns after the summer break to explain his actions.
He said: “The actions of the cabinet secretary are unprecedented and show that this issue has reached the highest levels of government.
“Although I am very surprised at this revelation, it explains why Downing Street, the White House and the home secretary were briefed in advance about David Miranda’s detention.”