Phone hacking scandal deepens

[Jan Klimkowski]

Oh my.

What a fine mess Volkland Security is in.

All because of the Special Relationship with the Murdoch crime family.

Fears over Andy Coulson's clearance as officials admit: We thought he had been vetted

Officials' mistaken belief that aide had top-level clearance may have given him access to restricted material

Daniel Boffey, policy editor The Observer, Sunday 24 July 2011

Senior government officials working with Andy Coulson believed that he did have the highest security clearance, it is claimed, raising questions over whether the prime minister's former aide was improperly granted access to the most sensitive information.

Last week it emerged that the former editor of the News of the World had not undergone the most intensive vetting on becoming the prime minister's director of communications and so was working without the highest level of clearance. This should have restricted his access to some documents.

But Labour MP Chris Bryant told the Observer that he had been informed by senior officials that they had believed Coulson was working with the same security clearance as had been held by Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's press security, who underwent the toughest vetting procedures, which are known as DV (developed vetting).

The development raises the question of whether Coulson, who was given the lesser clearance known as SC (security check), was allowed access that his security status did not warrant.

David Cameron has already admitted he did not know that Coulson, who was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of phone hacking and corruption, had only received the mid-range vetting until six months ago. Bryant, who along with Tom Watson has been pursuing the phone-hacking case in parliament, said: "Officials have told me Coulson had the same security clearance as any other director of communications would need, which would allow him to see security sensitive material. Yet we now know Coulson was never properly vetted and if he had been he probably wouldn't have passed. It's one thing for Cameron to be cavalier with the Tory party's plans, quite another when it comes to national security."

The Labour party has asked if the reason for giving Coulson only the lower-level clearance was to prevent information about his past coming to light. Coulson was subject only to the standard level of scrutiny, including a check of whether he had a criminal record, and of his financial history and family background. The high level of clearance involves more detailed probing of an individual's circumstances, including interviews with the subject and with friends and family members.Coulson did begin high-security vetting in November, about three months before he resigned as David Cameron's director of communications. It was decided that Coulson needed it following communication problems surrounding the discovery of an explosive device on an aircraft at East Midlands airport in October 2010.