Originally Posted by
baffman
The test for a breach of the Official Secrets Act is not, however, "putting people's lives at risk" but making "damaging" disclosure.
Loss of life and injury is covered as part of the definition of a damaging disclosure
(2)For the purposes of subsection (1) above a disclosure is damaging if—
(a)it damages the capability of, or of any part of, the armed forces of the Crown to carry out their tasks or leads to loss of life or injury to members of those forces or serious damage to the equipment or installations of those forces; or
(b)otherwise than as mentioned in paragraph (a) above, it endangers the interests of the United Kingdom abroad, seriously obstructs the promotion or protection by the United Kingdom of those interests or endangers the safety of British citizens abroad; or
(c)it is of information or of a document or article which is such that its unauthorised disclosure would be likely to have any of those effects.
There are other details in the MOD's own JSP on security, but as that hasn't been released onto Gov.UK, I don't intend to have my own breach by going into them here! All that said, the press reports suggest that even the Cabinet Secretary has admitted he didn't breach the OSA, so it would appear that there is no criminal case to answer. In which case, where is the smoking gun? Looking more and more like a sacking of political convenience. I doubt he will be suing for wrongful dismissal, but this could well have the making of May's own Watergate if it runs.