David Shayler: Giving evidence

A Scottish parliament committee has heard former MI5 agent David Shayler call for more open government.

Speaking to the Justice One Committee as it took evidence on the general principles of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Bill, Shayler said that ministers were often more concerned with preventing the disclosure of embarrassing or inconvenient facts than protecting national security.

Shayler, who is facing three charges of breaching the Official Secrets Act, had to be repeatedly warned by the committee's convener, Christine Grahame, to stick to the general issues and avoid commenting on any specific allegations.

The ex-MI5 agent, who has said the security services kept files on former Northern Ireland minister, Peter Mandelson, and foreign secretary, Jack Straw, during the 1970s, was giving evidence as part of a delegation from the National Union of Journalists.

He told committee members that there was a distinction between the terms "national security" and "national interest". He said the latter was often being used as a means of preventing the publication of embarrassing information.

He also said that national security was damaged only if information got into the hands of those who may use it against the state. For example, he said, if information about the IRA got into the hands of an organisation opposed to the IRA, it would not necessarily harm national security.

Shayler said better access to government files through a freedom of information bill may have helped him prove allegations that were denied by the government. Ministers could "lie" in the absence of a strong freedom of information bill, he said.

During the evidence session, Christine Grahame also expressed concern that the proposed Scottish bill "may hit the buffers" as a result of proposed anti-terrorist legislation.