Courts and bug product

[Nicholas Bohm]

Ian Batten wrote:
> 
> On 16 Feb 2008, at 17:05, Nicholas Bohm wrote:
>>
>> Fuchs, Vassal, Blake, Houghton et al (Portland spy ring) (see 
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Spy_Ring - including:
> 
> Most of those were British citizens, prosecuted in British courts for 
> crimes against British law committed at least partially on British (or 
> Empire) soil.   Fuchs was given British Citizenship in 1942, about a 
> year after the GRU established contact with him, but all the information 
> he provided to the USSR was provided as a British citizen, and at least 
> some of it when he was working at Harwell.   Vassal was British and 
> working for the Admiralty, Blake was naturalised from a complex 
> background, Houghton was a working class lad from Lincolnshire.  All 
> were prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act, all having provided 
> classified information they held under clearance to a foreign power.
> 
> They weren't illegals, they weren't foreign citizens (hence couldn't be 
> deported without stripped them of citizenship as happened in Fuchs' 
> case) and they weren't operating under diplomatic cover.  They may have 
> been detected by spooks, but they were prosecuted through the courts on 
> the basis of special branch type evidence.  I don't think we can 
> extrapolate from those cases how intercept would be used to prosecute 
> spies two generations later.

In the case of the Portland spy ring, Lonsdale and the Krogers (to use 
the names they used as spies) were all foreigners, were quite possibly 
in the UK illegally (I'm too idle to check), and were all prosecuted 
here under the Official Secrets Act.  (They were subsequently exchanged 
for Britons convicted abroad of spying, which feels different from 
deportation.)

I can't see any reason why people in the same position today wouldn't be 
treated the same way.  Do you think they would instead nowadays all be 
quietly deported?  Or have I missed your point?  I certainly don't 
follow your reasoning, and don't see what it's based on.

Nicholas
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