Difference between revisions of "ABC Trial"

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The '''ABC Trial''' was an official secrets case of 1977-78, when a [[Labour]] government prosecuted two journalists and a former soldier for holding an interview, using the [[Official Secrets Act 1911]], a law they had promised to repeal years before. The ABC case (named after the three defendants: [[Crispin Aubrey]], [[John Berry]] and [[Duncan Campbell]]) ended in November 1978, causing grave embarrassment for [[James Callaghan]]'s Labour government.<ref>[http://www.duncancampbell.org/content/biography#panorama "Duncan Campbell biography"]</ref>
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The '''ABC Trial''' was an official secrets case of 1977-78, when a [[Labour]] government prosecuted two journalists and a former soldier for holding an interview, using the [[Official Secrets Act 1911]], a law they had promised to repeal years before.<ref>''[http://web.archive.org/web/20070607034318/http://ukcoldwar.simplenet.com/nuclear/civildefence/abctrial/ "The ABC Trial"]'', Kevin Hall, 22 August 2006</ref>
  
Aubrey was a journalist for ''[[Time Out]]'' magazine, Berry a former corporal in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signals_intelligence Signals Intelligence (SIGINT)], and Campbell an investigative journalist. One of the prosecution witnesses, an anonymous SIGINT officer referred to as ''Colonel B'',  was in fact [[Hugh Johnstone]].<ref>[http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/people/moran/classified/abc/ "The ABC Trial"]</ref>
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The ABC case (named after the three defendants: [[Crispin Aubrey]], [[John Ashley Berry|John Berry]] and [[Duncan Campbell]]) ended in November 1978, causing grave embarrassment for [[James Callaghan]]'s Labour government.<ref>''[http://www.duncancampbell.org/content/biography#panorama "Duncan Campbell biography"]''</ref>
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Aubrey was a journalist for ''[[Time Out]]'' magazine, Berry a former corporal in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signals_intelligence Signals Intelligence (SIGINT)], and Campbell an investigative journalist. One of the prosecution witnesses, an anonymous SIGINT officer referred to as ''Colonel B'',  was in fact [[Hugh Johnstone]].<ref>''[http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/people/moran/classified/abc/ "The ABC Trial"]'', University of Warwick, 28 November 2013</ref>
  
 
==Timeline==
 
==Timeline==

Revision as of 15:05, 17 November 2017

Event.png ABC Trial  Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
ABC Trial.jpg
Date5 September 1978 - 17 November 1978
Type criminal trial
DescriptionAn official secrets case of 1977-78 during which the UK Labour government prosecuted 3 people for holding an interview, using the Official Secrets Act 1911, a law they earlier had promised to repeal.

The ABC Trial was an official secrets case of 1977-78, when a Labour government prosecuted two journalists and a former soldier for holding an interview, using the Official Secrets Act 1911, a law they had promised to repeal years before.[1]

The ABC case (named after the three defendants: Crispin Aubrey, John Berry and Duncan Campbell) ended in November 1978, causing grave embarrassment for James Callaghan's Labour government.[2]

Aubrey was a journalist for Time Out magazine, Berry a former corporal in Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), and Campbell an investigative journalist. One of the prosecution witnesses, an anonymous SIGINT officer referred to as Colonel B, was in fact Hugh Johnstone.[3]

Timeline

  • 18 February 1977: Aubrey and Campbell (the two journalists) interviewed Berry
  • 20 February 1977: All three men were arrested and charged under Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 (Berry was charged with "communicating classified information to unauthorised persons", and Campbell and Aubrey with "unauthorised receipt of classified information")
  • 24 May 1977: Further charges were added under Section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911
  • 9 August 1977: Additional charge under Section 1 against Duncan Campbell, for collecting information
  • November 1977: Committal hearing at Tottenham Magistrates Court. First appearance of Colonel B as a prosecution witness.
  • 5 September 1978: Trial opens at the Old Bailey in front of Mr Justice Willis
  • 18 September 1978: Trial stopped after jury foreman exposed as a former SAS officer
  • 3 October 1978: Second trial opens in front of Mr Justice Mars-Jones
  • 24 October 1978: All Section 1 charges dropped
  • 17 November 1978: Aubrey, Berry and Campbell receive non-custodial sentences

References

  1. "The ABC Trial", Kevin Hall, 22 August 2006
  2. "Duncan Campbell biography"
  3. "The ABC Trial", University of Warwick, 28 November 2013
  • Campbell, Duncan (1979). Official Secrecy and British Libertarianism
  • Aubrey, Crispin (1981). Who's Watching You? Britain's Security Services & the Official Secrets Act (1st ed.). Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-022283-9.
  • Robertson, Geoffrey (1999). The Justice Game, Vintage Books. ISBN 0-09-958191-4

External links

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