Friday, November 25, 2005

Lawmaker Urges Release of Bombing Document

LONDON - A lawmaker said Friday he had filed a parliamentary motion urging Prime Minister Tony Blair to publish a leaked document that allegedly suggests President Bush wanted to bomb the headquarters of Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera.

Earlier this week, Attorney General Lord Goldsmith warned editors they could face prosecution under the Official Secrets Act for disclosing the contents of a document that has been described as a transcript of discussions between Bush and Blair.

Labour Party backbencher Peter Kilfoyle filed a motion calling for publication of the document, which was leaked to the Daily Mirror newspaper. Civil servant David Keogh and Leo O'Connor, who formerly worked for a British lawmaker, have been charged with violating the Official Secrets Act.

"I would hope we can have a fair and full discussion of the very important issues that were discussed at that meeting," Kilfoyle, a former defense minister, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

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