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<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/171A7C64-F5C0-41EF-A613-EBA745ACEF7A.htm" eudora="autourl">
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/171A7C64-F5C0-41EF-A613-EBA745ACEF7A.htm<br>
</a>UK gags paper over Aljazeera memo<br>
by <br>
Wednesday 23 November 2005 6:23 AM GMT <br><br>
<b>Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper has been ordered to cease publishing
further details from an allegedly top secret memo revealing that US
President George Bush wanted to bomb Aljazeera.<br><br>
</b></font><font size=2>The gag order from Attorney-General Lord
Goldsmith came nearly 24 hours after the paper published details of what
it said was a transcript of talks between Bush and the British Prime
Minister Tony Blair. <br><br>
In those talks, which took place during the prime minister's April 2004
visit to Washington, Blair is said to have talked Bush out of launching
"military action" on the television channel's headquarters in
Doha, Qatar. <br><br>
"No 10 did nothing to stop us publishing our front page exclusive
yesterday (Tuesday)," the Daily Mirror said on Wednesday, referring
to the British prime minister's office.<br><br>
But the attorney-general warned that publication of any further details
from the document would be a breach of the Official Secrets Act.
<br><br>
He threatened an immediate High Court injunction unless the newspaper
confirmed it would not publish further details. <br><br>
"We have essentially agreed to comply," the paper reported.
<br><br>
"We made No 10 fully aware of the intention to publish and were
given 'no comment' officially or unofficially, Daily Mirror Editor
Richard Wallace was quoted as saying. <br><br>
"Suddenly 24 hours later we are threatened under Section 5 [of the
Official Secrets Act]."<br><br>
According to Britain's Guardian newspaper, it is the first time that the
Blair government has threatened to prosecute a newspaper for publishing
the contents of leaked government documents.<br><br>
<b>'Inconceivable'<br><br>
</b>The White House has dismissed the Daily Mirror report, calling it
"outlandish".<br><br>
"We are not going to dignify something so outlandish and
inconceivable with a response," White House spokesman Scott
McClellan said on Tuesday. <br><br>
Aljazeera itself, whose coverage of the war in Iraq has been criticised
by the US, says it is also investigating the report.<br><br>
"If the report is correct then this would be both shocking and
worrisome not only to Aljazeera but to media organisations across the
world," the station said in a
<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/english/DialogBox/PrintPreview.aspx?NRORIGINALURL/NR/exeres/63190D83-F77A-4521-A5CB-FA84D672FAB7.htm">
statement</a>.<br><br>
Following the Mirror's report there have been calls to release the
transcript.<br><br>
</font><font face="verdana" size=2><b>"If the report is correct then
this would be both shocking and worrisome not only to Aljazeera but to
media organisations across the world"<br><br>
</b></font><font face="verdana" size=1>Aljazeera statement<br>
</font><font size=2>"If true, then this underlines the desperation
of the Bush administration," said Liberal Democrat foreign affairs
spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell.<br><br>
"On this occasion, the prime minister may have been successful in
averting political disaster, but it shows how dangerous his relationship
with President Bush has been."<br><br>
The Mirror on Tuesday quoted a source as saying: "The memo is
explosive and hugely damaging to Bush.<br><br>
"He made clear he wanted to bomb Aljazeera in Qatar and elsewhere.
Blair replied that would cause a big problem.<br><br>
"There's no doubt what Bush wanted to do - and no doubt Blair didn't
want him to do it."<br><br>
<b>Previous attacks<br><br>
</b>The threat by Bush also "casts fresh doubt on claims that other
attacks on Aljazeera were accidents", the Mirror said in its report
on Tuesday. <br><br>
It cited the 2001 direct hit on the channel's Kabul office in
Afghanistan.<br><br>
In November 2001, Aljazeera's office in Kabul was destroyed by a US
missile. None of the crew was at the office at the time. <br><br>
US officials said they believed the target was a "terrorist"
site and did not know it was Aljazeera's office.<br><br>
In April 2003, an Aljazeera journalist, Tariq Ayub, died when its Baghdad
office was struck during a US bombing campaign.<br><br>
In its statement on Tuesday, Aljazeera said that if the Mirror's report
was true, it would "cast serious doubts in regard to the US
administration's version of previous incidents involving Aljazeera's
journalists and offices."<br><br>
<b>Charges<br><br>
</b>A British civil servant has been charged under the Official Secrets
Act for allegedly leaking the government memo.<br><br>
The Daily Mirror said the memo, stamped "Top Secret", turned up
last year at the Northampton office of then Labour MP Tony
Clarke.<br><br>
Civil servant David Keogh, 49, is now accused of passing the memo to Leo
O'Connor, who once worked for Clarke. <br><br>
Both Keogh and O'Connor are due to appear in court next week on charges
under the Act. <br><br>
Clarke, who opposed the invasion of Iraq and who lost his seat at the
last election, returned the memo to Downing Street.<br><br>
</font><font size=3><b>Aljazeera + Agencies<br>
By <br><br>
</b>You can find this article at:<br>
<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/171A7C64-F5C0-41EF-A613-EBA745ACEF7A.htm" eudora="autourl">
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/171A7C64-F5C0-41EF-A613-EBA745ACEF7A.htm</a>
<br><br>
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