FILE PHOTO: Britain’s Secretary of State for Defence Gavin Williamson is seen outside Downing Street in London, Britain, April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) – British police said they will not probe a leak of information about Chinese telecoms company Huawei that cost Gavin Williamson his job as defense minister this week, as no criminal offence was committed.
Williamson strenuously denied being responsible for the leak, but May said she had lost confidence in him, after the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported discussions from within Britain’s National Security Council.
“I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act,” Britain’s top counter-terrorism police officer, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu, said on Saturday.
“The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.”
Reporting by David Milliken; editing by John Stonestreet