The Kim Darroch affair means it will be even harder for journalists to get to the truth

Looking at the story of the British diplomat’s resignation from a purely media point of view, the police investigation into the Kim Darroch affair is quite disturbing.

This is not just because Neil Basu of the Metropolitan Police threatened editors about publishing such leaks as those in the Darroch affair – an absurd and unworkable idea. But also because of the threat of action against the leakers themselves, which is a perfectly realistic and arguably legitimate scenario.

This incident will undoubtedly have a chilling effect on the supply of information to the media. Some of those stories will be of vital public interest, things the public have a right to know, exposing corruption and wrongdoing. But if you are a civil servant, police officer, diplomat or politician, and you think you’re going to end up in a room under caution with Inspector Nutcase as a result of briefing a journalist, you might think twice about talking to a reporter or handing a TV production team some sensitive documents.

What happened with the Darroch emails plainly wasn’t supposed to happen. The usual script is that some bits of gossip are fed into the media, a few people get indignant, the intended victim suffers some embarrassment, you gain some marginal tactical advantage, and the world moves on.

Not this time. The Darroch leaks were supposed to be routine – but now we have the tragic fall of a respected public servant, an international incident, potentially vast economic damage, and coppers crawling all over the place. Maybe even the security services too. It’s serious.

Whoever was doing the leaking badly miscalculated subsequent reactions – especially those of Donald Trump and Theresa May’s willingness to get tough in her final days and call in the police for a swift criminal investigation. This was not in the script.

I doubt Sir Kim will be the last high-profile casualty of this affair. This story has much more to give. It may backfire even more spectacularly for the leaker(s). A senior political figure in the dock under the Official Secrets Act? A career-ending moment? Frankly, I’d not be shocked, would you?

When justice is done, it might well be in the best national interest, but as I say we in the media and the public may suffer a drought of juicy leaks for a time, and know less about what is being done in our name. There are two sides to every story.

Yours,

Associate editor

Sean O’Grady