Ex-MI5 man wins public interest plea (Filed: 01/11/2001)

FORMER MI5 agent David Shayler today won permission
to appeal to the House of Lords against earlier court
decisions barring his public interest defence to Official
Secrets Act charges.

Lawyers for Shayler said he acted for "the greater
good" when disclosing security service "iniquities" to the
media.

Today a committee of three Law Lords granted Shayler
permission to appeal to the House of Lords against
earlier court decisions barring his public interest
defence.

Reacting to the judgment, Shayler said: "I am very glad
that we are going to have our case heard by the
highest court in the land."

He said that the decision would delay his trial and
claimed a government investigation into his revelations
that the British security services had been involved with
a plot to assassinate Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi
vindicated him.

He said: "This will also put back the date of my trial once
again. In the meantime, I hope the details of the
Gaddafi plot will emerge. The government has been
sitting on this for a number of months now and know
that any disclosure of the investigation will vindicate me
at the expense of government ministers. I am confident
that will be disclosed before any trial