Met Police Commissioner confirms ‘initial’ talks on diplomatic documents leak
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Met Police commissioner Cressida Dick has told the House of Commons’ home affairs committee she finds the leak of diplomatic memos a “deeply worrying situation”.
She told MPs: “As somebody who’s been a public servant for a long time – and, indeed, spent two years in the civil service – I obviously think it’s very sad to somebody like him resigning in this manner.
“I also think that as a citizen… it is a deeply worrying situation where communications like this can end up in the public domain. It is true to say that we have a contact communication with the Cabinet Office and the Foreign Office about a whole series of different issues. They have alerted us to the fact that they have an inquiry. That would be our involvement at this stage.”
But she added Whitehall officials “had not come to us with any form of referral” so far.
She said: “Were they to come to us with a referral, we will assess the material they have and why they think this is a matter for the police. We will go through what is called a ‘gateway’ process to decide whether it is.”
“However much I, as a citizen and a public servant might regret a leak, which I really do, as a police leader we are interested in whether a crime may or may not have been committed. That is the point at which we will get involved in terms of a referral and a scoping process.
