Who was Clive Ponting accused of leaking information to during his 1985 secrets trial?
Clive Ponting Clive Ponting Clive Sheridan Ponting (born 13 April 1946) is a former senior civil servant, best known for leaking documents about the sinking of the ARA "General Belgrano" in the Falklands War. He is the author of a number of revisionist books on British and world history. While a senior civil servant at the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Ponting sent two documents, subsequently nicknamed "the crown jewels", to Labour MP Tam Dalyell in July 1984 concerning the sinking of an Argentine navy warship "General Belgrano", a key incident in the Falklands War of 1982. After Ponting admitted revealing the information,
Clive Ponting the Ministry of Defence suspended Ponting without pay. On 17 August 1985, he was charged with a criminal offence under Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act of 1911. The Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, had his pay reinstated once she had been briefed on what had happened. Ponting's defence at the trial was that the matter and its disclosure to a Member of Parliament was in the public interest. This was the first case under the Official Secrets Act that involved giving information to Parliament. Although Ponting expected to be imprisoned, he was acquitted by the jury. The acquittal came